The Valley Railway Series
by Wolf Nanaki
Summary: A reboot of my original series "Whatever Happened to Smudger?". Learn about Smudger's life after Sodor, find out why Hiro left his home, and what's happened there since he left. Reviews/comments encouraged!
1. Forward

**The Valley Railway Series**

**A Forward by the Author**

**

* * *

**To this day, I still can't believe how one minor character could influence all of the stories I've written up until this point. It's also amazing how such a simple concept for books and a television show – talking trains – could be so praised and loved that it's survived for nearly 65 years! Thomas and Friends never fails to inspire awe and wonder in children, and I sincerely hope it never ends.

As a young child, I too was pulled into the infinite world of talking steam engines on the Island of Sodor. But one particular episode – "Granpuff", the first episode of the fourth season – really sparked my inspiration to write. In the episode there was mention of a little green tank engine named Smudger, a reckless showoff who rode roughly and often derailed. A hazard to the other engines, his Manager eventually locked him away in the back of the shed as a generator.

This would've been fine, but then the railway closes, and as time passes, everything is covered in overgrowth. I saw Duke rescued and brought to the Skarloey Railway, where Sir Handel and Peter Sam welcomed him warmly and they lived happily together again. But the whole time I was thinking "but what happened to Smudger?" His descriptions on the web site and toys always finished with the generator story; not once do they mention what happened to him after the line was closed.

This seemingly gaping hole in the series prompted me to try to "save" Smudger. I began to write stories about him being rescued and brought to another railway far away, where he could live happily and peacefully. My fixation with Japanese culture at the time made me place the stories on an island just off the coast of Japan. Virtually no research was put in as to what Japanese engines were like or how the railways worked; I just picked out a few prototypes that I thought were cool and threw them into the story.

This eventually formed itself into "_Whatever Happened to Smudger?_", which ran from October 10th, 2005 to February 3, 2006. I was amazed with how much positive feedback it received, so I decided to continue it with another series, "_Tales from Hasegawa Valley_". But from there came the downfall of the stories; I was too wound up with my own personal life and education to continue it.

Several years passed, and I eventually saw the new Thomas CGI production "_Hero of the Rails_" What marveled me was seeing a Japanese locomotive, Hiro, running on Sodor rails; Japanese engines were a completely different gauge, so Hiro must have a special history behind him in order to make his existence work at all. My firs thought? "I know! I'll incorporate him into my old series!"

But in order to do that, I had to get reacquainted with my old characters and stories. When I looked over all of my old material, however, I realized that it was incredibly unrealistic, and I could have probably written it thousands of times better had I written it today. So instead of just slapping Hiro into my old stories, I retooled everything completely. The only two things that remained intact were Edward Mann and Candy, and even they needed their personalities and roles retooled.

The result of all this was 12 brand new Railway Series-style stories that were drastically different from the original stories they were based on. I've done my absolute best to make the stories more realistic and enjoyable than they once were, and I'm proud of what I've completed up until this point. I really hope you all enjoy reading these stories as much as I did writing them.

_**~ Nanaki**_


	2. Book 1, Chapter 1

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 1: Smudger the Free Engine**

**

* * *

**_Dear Friends,_

_I once met a man whose father worked for the Upper and Lower Valley Railways. "His name was Ryo Gunji," he told me, "He represented both railways. He would travel the world, bringing engines who had been abandoned or sold back to the Island, and give them a second chance."_

_I found, to my surprise, that lots of the engines Ryo found still exist today! I met them, and they told me their stories._

_One little engine told me some particularly interesting tales..._

_The Author_

_

* * *

  
_

**Smudger Remembers**

Once, a long time ago, there were three little engines, who lived in their own little shed, on their own little railway. Of the three of them, Duke was the oldest and wisest, and he liked to keep the little engines in order.  
Duke also helped new engines and taught them what to do. Many engines came and went on the little railway, but Duke outlasted them all.  
One day, a big gray tank engine had arrived. Duke had told him to take some trucks to the slate mines. "Don't be late," Duke had warned him, "That would never suit His Grace!"  
The engine just laughed, and puffed away with his trucks.

After his hard work, he had stopped in a siding to rest. Next to him was a big shed. He could just barely see a green boiler and a long funnel. "It must be an engine," he thought to himself.  
"Hullo!" he called to the shed, "Is there anybody in there?"  
"Are you one of the new engines?" came a voice.  
"I might be," the engine said suspiciously, "My name is Fredrick."  
"My name's Smudger. I used to work on this railway too."

"What happened?" asked Fredrick.  
"I came here several years ago," said Smudger, "but I wasn't used to the line, and I had a bad attitude. On my first day, Duke warned me that this railway puts up with no nonsense, and that I needed to be on my best behavior.  
"'I'll be fine!,' I insisted, 'I can handle myself!' But that was easier said than done, as I soon found out. I often rode too roughly down the line, and often derailed. Duke got really tired of me constantly coming off.

"One day, I myself had finally got tired of his nagging. "Listen, Dukie,' I said to him, 'Who worries about a few spills?'  
"'We do here,' he said, but I just laughed."  
"Why did you laugh?" asked Fredrick.  
"I don't remember anymore," Smudger said sadly, "I must have found it funny, or else I laughed to hide my own shame."  
Smudger coughed, and then he continued.

"Then one day, manager took away my wheels, and told me he was going to make me 'useful at last'."  
"So what do you do now?"  
"He made me into a pumping engine, to pump water out of a mine for some town. Then I broke down, and I was moved here behind the shed. Driver says all I need is a good pair of wheels, and I'll be running as good as new."  
Smudger sighed sadly. "It would be so nice," he said thoughtfully, "if I could go out and see the world again."

"Well," Fredrick said with a grin, "if it's freedom you want, you should leave as quickly as possible."  
"Why is that?" asked Smudger.  
"This railway's on the verge of closing," said Fredrick, "Mines and routes are slowly going away. I'd say in a good year or two, the engines will be up for sale."  
Smudger gulped. "Then what should I do?" he asked.  
"There's an important man coming to visit tomorrow," said Fredrick, "representing a far-away railway. He's looking for engines ready to work as soon as possible."

"How far away?" asked Smudger.  
"Far enough that you won't see me again!" laughed Fredrick, "On the other side of the world, it seems! Driver says that tomorrow's his last day on Sodor, so if you want to get a new home, you'd better make sure to grab his attention."  
"I'll try," said Smudger, growing excited, "Thank you, Fredrick."  
"Please," replied Fredrick, "My friends call me Freddie."  
And with that, Freddie chuffed off back to work.


	3. Book 1, Chapter 2

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 1: Smudger the Free Engine**

**

* * *

****First Impressions**

Smudger was excited the next morning. The Representative was coming to the railway, and Smudger was keep to get his attention.  
"If he notices me," he said, "maybe he'll buy me!"  
"We can only hope," laughed his Fireman. He had brought Smudger's old wheels, and then he gave Smudger a good polish. Then he went inside the cab and lit the little engine's fire.  
Smudger felt great. His fire was burning nicely, he had plenty of steam, and his brass shone. "He can't ignore me now!" he said happily.

The hours passed. Smudger was getting more and more nervous. "Maybe he decided not to visit," he thought, "and thought he should go home instead."  
His Fireman sighed. "I'll be back soon," he said. He shut off Smudger's steam, and then headed inside to eat his lunch.  
Just then, a little blue engine puffed by, pulling coaches. Smudger's eyes lit up. "He must have brought the Representative!" he thought. He tried to whistle, but he couldn't without the Fireman.

The blue engine stopped just outside the sheds, and a important-looking man stepped out. Smudger could see him shaking the Manager's hand.  
"That must be him!" he said to himself. He was very worried. The Representative was standing very far away, and couldn't see Smudger.  
Smudger tried to shout. "Hey!" he shouted as loud as he could, "Over here!" but his voice was muffled behind the wall in front of him.  
His Fireman had still not come back from lunch. Smudger began to panic.

Meanwhile, the Representative was speaking to the manager.  
"Have you got any engines for sale?" he asked, "Our Railway needs engines right away."  
"Sorry," said the Manager, "but we couldn't give up our engines if we wanted. We're struggling to keep up with industry as it is."  
The Representative frowned. "None in the sheds, or further up the line?"  
"None," said the Manager, "There is another narrow gauge railway on this Island. Have you visited them?"

Smudger watched as the two men talked. He wondered why his Fireman wasn't back yet. "Please hurry up!" he groaned.  
He could see that the Representative looked upset. "Oh no," cried Smudger, "He's going to leave!"  
Just then, his Fireman arrived. "Sorry I took a while," he said to Smudger, "My wife called, and—"  
"Save it!" cried Smudger, "The man's about to leave!"  
The Fireman headed inside the cab. Smudger was getting more and more worried. "Hurry!" he cried to his Fireman.

The Representative shook the Manager's hand. "I'll just have to go elsewhere and look," he said sadly, "There's bound to be another little railway elsewhere."  
"You can hope, anyway!" chuckled the Manager. We do hope to see you again soon."  
Just then, they heard a loud, shrill whistle that made them both jump. "What was that?" asked the Representative, very surprised.  
"That must have been..." began the Manager, but before he could finish, the Representative was already heading over to the back of the shed.

The Representative laughed when he saw Smudger staring up at him. "What's this engine doing here?" he asked the Manager.  
"He wasn't fit to run the line," the Manager explained, "So we fitted him to use as a steam pumping engine."  
"All he needs is his wheels fitted back on," said the Fireman, "and he'll run as good as new!"  
The Representative smiled at the Manager. "Is this little engine for sale?" he asked kindly.  
"He's..." the Manager gave Smudger a good long stare before nodding. "Of course," he said, "You may have him."  
Smudger let out a huge sigh of relief.  
"All right then!" the Representative said, "See to it that he has his wheels fitted on at once! And bring him to the harbor tomorrow. Good day to you, Sir."


	4. Book 1, Chapter 3

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 1: Smudger the Free Engine**

**

* * *

Saying Goodbye**

The next morning, Smudger was woken up early. His wheels had been fitted back on the night before, and the wall in front of him was torn down. A small ramp stood before him, leading onto the rails.  
His fire was soon lit, and he was sizzling with excitement. "Finally!" he chucked, "Wait till that old Duke hears about this!"  
His Driver laughed. "No time for small talk," he said, "Let's get you moving."  
A workman stood close by, and he helped the Driver direct the little engine out of the shed and onto the Main Line.

Smudger felt wonderful being back on the rails. He remembered another engine shared his same ordeal. "I wonder how Stanley is," he said.  
He was given truck filled with coal, and his Fireman filled Smudger's tanks while his Driver looked at the map. "We'd better get going," he said, "if we want to catch your boat on time. Be on your best behavior, understood?"  
"Yeah, I hear you, dangit," said Smudger absentmindedly. He was too busy wondering what sort of railway he would be moved to.

At first, the trip to the harbor was a very smooth one. Smudger even passed Facon and Stuart, who were very surprised to see him passing by!  
Further down the line, however, Smudger derailed, and his Driver and Fireman had to lever him back onto the line. "You'd better hope you don't miss that boat of yours," his Driver said grimly.  
"It ain't my fault this railway's so..." Smudger began. His Fireman severely hushed him.  
Smudger decided to keep quiet the rest of the journey, and try to stay on the rails.  
Above them, the sun was rising higher into the sky. His Driver kept checking his watch.

At long last, they arrived at the harbor. Here the narrow gauge line ended, and the Fat Controller's railway was nearby. Smudger had only been to the harbor once before, but he could hardly remember it now.  
Along the water, there were many ships, big and small. Most of the ships were for transporting goods, but Smudger couldn't tell which ship was for the Representative.  
"Hey, bud!" he called out to a workman who was on his lunch break, "Can you help me out here?"  
"Not with that attitude!" snapped the workman, and he went back to his sandwich.

There was suddenly a loud toot. A ship was ready to leave. Smudger began to panic.  
"That can't be my boat, right?" he asked his Driver.  
"He never gave us the ship's name," his Driver groaned, "How does he expect us to find him?"  
"There can't be any hard in checking," his Fireman said.  
Leaving Smudger in a siding, they hurried over to see what ship was leaving. Smudger hissed with impatience.

"I wonder where they're going," came a familiar voice beside him.  
Smudger nearly yelped. There, standing next to him, was the Representative himself!  
"I had forgotten to tell you which ship was mine," he said, "and I apologize. Now if we want to make good time, we'd best be going now."  
His Driver and Fireman returned, and saw the Representative. After having a good laugh about the situation, the ship whistled that it was nearly time to leave.  
"I guess we'd better get him loaded up then," said the Representative with a smile.

Smudger was moved as close to the ship as possible, and was uncoupled from his truck. After thanking the men, the Representative headed on board the ship. After they put out his fire, Smudger said goodbye to his old Driver and Fireman. They left to catch the next train home.  
Using strong cranes, they loaded Smudger onto the ship. He looked out at the Island one last time with a confident grin.  
"Look out, brave new world," Smudger said, "because here I come!"  
With that, the ship's whistle blasted long and loud, and Smudger was on his way to his new home.


	5. Book 1, Chapter 4

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 1: Smudger the Free Engine**

**

* * *

Engines at Sea**

Smudger enjoyed riding the big ship, but presently grew lonely. A few days later the ship stopped again, and another engine was brought on board. She was a big, gray tank engine.  
Smudger decided to talk. "Hey!" he said to her, "The name's Smudger."  
"My name is..." the big engine replied, but suddenly frowned. "Oh," she chucked, "I guess I don't have a name yet."  
Smudger was surprised. "Why not?" he asked.  
"I was just built," she explained, "Have you met the Representative? He came right into our Yard and asked if there were any engines available right that second, and they sold me."

Just as she finished, the Representative walked in.  
"So what kind of place is this railway anyway?" asked Smudger.  
The Representative grinned. "It's one of the most beautiful railways in the world," he told them, "There's a big railway that passes through cities, mountains, and forest. And there's a little railway by the sea and in the lovely countryside. And they both pass through a stunning valley that leaves you breathless."  
The big engine smiled. "It sounds wonderful," she said happily.

"It gets better," the Representative went on. "The big railway has a branch line, its own Works, and many other things. They even have a secret post office railway – only the railwaymen know about it!"  
"When do we get there?" Smudger blurted out.  
"In about a week or so," the Representative answered, "Don't worry, it won't be too long. Once we get there, you'll be taken to your railway on a lorry. And you," he went on, looking at the big tank engine, "You'll be picked up by one of the engines, and they'll get you to work as soon as possible."  
The Representative left, and the two engines talked all night about their new home.

The ship left the harbor the next day. The two engines didn't have much to do in the storage room, so they talked about their old homes. Smudger told her all about Duke and Stanley, and how he managed to be bought by the Representative. The other engine told Smudger all about the mainland.  
Smudger thought for a while. "Are you going to miss your old home?" he asked her.  
She looked up at the ceiling. "I'm not sure," she said, "I mean, it was a nice place, but I really didn't know anybody, and I wasn't there for too long anyway. What about you?"  
"I might," replied Smudger, "It wasn't the nicest of places – especially that old gramps – but they did their best."

A workman came in. "Hey you two," he chuckled, "Are you bored cooped up in here?"  
"We're getting alone fine," said Smudger, "Why?"  
"The big man says I can let you come out to the deck and look at the sea, if you like."  
Smudger still had some coal and water, but the other engine was completely empty. "Go for me," she said, "and please tell me how it is!"  
"Of course," Smudger said to his new friend.  
Some men lit his fire, and he was soon making plenty of steam. The workman opened the long door in front of him, leading out to the ship's deck.

Slowly and carefully, Smudger puffed along the thin rails outside the storage room. He stopped on top of the deck, and gasped.  
"It's not like me to appreciate beauty," he said, "but darn if this isn't a sight to see!"  
He was certainly right. All around the ship was a sparkling blue sea, with the sounds of the calming ocean waves splashing against the ship. The sun was shining bright, and some fluffy clouds floated lazily along.

Smudger stayed out there for a few hours, watching the sun slowly begin to set over the horizon, before they brought him back into the storage room. Smudger told the big engine what he had see.  
"It sounds like it was amazing," she said.  
"It was," Smudger replied with a grin, "And it got me thinking: if I'm going to a fresh new place where nobody knows me, I should make the best of it. When I get there, I'll make sure to show everyone how useful an engine like me can be!"  
"That's good to hear," the big engine giggled, and the two fell happily asleep.


	6. Book 2, Chapter 1

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 2: Valley Engines**

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* * *

Dear Friends,_

_In my last book, I told you all about how Smudger left Sodor to start his new life. I asked him if joining the Lower Valley Railway was easy._

_"They got used to me quick," said Smudger, "everybody except Candy anyway. She wanted nothing to do with me!"_

_He didn't tell me why, right there and then. "That would spoil the whole plot, wouldn't it?" he said with a wink._

_The Author_

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Lukewarm Welcome**

Smudger had no idea how long he had been sailing on the ship, but he and the big tank engine presently grew very bored. One evening, a workman came in and opened the door in front of them, the cold air bursting in. Smudger shivered.  
"We're here!" the workman said cheerfully. "Your lorry is already here, so Smudger, you'll be unloaded first."  
Smudger said goodbye to the big tank engine, and he was rolled out to the ship's deck. From up above, he could see a dockyard bustling with activity. A large crane carefully lowered him down to the waiting lorry's flatbed.  
"So you're headed for the Little Railway?" the lorry asked as it drove away with Smudger. "You'd better be prepared – those little engines have been working harder than ever."  
Smudger didn't know what to think, for he was so exhausted from his long journey that he fell asleep at once.

The next morning, he awoke to find himself in an unfamiliar shed. To his right was a red tank engine, who was getting ready to leave. His nameplate read "Edward Mann".  
To Smudger's left was a very awkward little engine. She was a bright yellow color, with a long red buffer beam, and she had a vertical boiler in her center. Her nameplate read "Candy".  
Candy was looking away from Smudger, an indignant scowl on her face. Smudger was worried. "I'm sorry," he said to her, "but did I do something wrong?"  
Candy didn't reply. "Don't mind her," said Edward Mann grimly. "She's been that way for a while."  
"Why is that?" asked Smudger.  
"It's not to be discussed," Candy suddenly hissed. Smudger jolted a little.

It was that moment when a distinguished-looking man in very oriental clothes arrived. "Welcome," he said with a warm smile, "to our special little railway."  
"Yeah, thanks," Smudger said. He was now looking at the Yard, which was directly across from the sheds and sprawled with trucks and coaches.  
Edward Mann noticed his darting eyes. "Show some respect," he whispered. "This is our Controller!"  
"Now, Candy," the Little Controller said, "Smudger is new and needs to learn the line. I would like you to take him with your goods train, and then show him the slate mine. And no objections," he finished, noticing her about to retort.  
Edward Mann was also given the job of taking supplies to somewhere called "The Site". Before Smudger could ask, Edward Mann gave him a look and said, "You'll probably find out later."

Smudger was coupled to the goods train, with Candy in front of him. As the two chuffed off to their destination, they stopped by a signal. Next to them, on a siding of the Big Railway, was a large, square engine dozing in the sun. He looked very old and tired.  
Candy introduced him. "This is Takao," she said to Smudger, "the oldest engine on our Island. Takao, this is...the new engine."  
"It's a pleasure to meet you," the old engine croaked. "How do you like the railway so far?"  
"It's great," Smudger said, "Everybody's been so nice...mostly," he added, giving Candy a look.  
"Don't you mind little Candy," Takao chuckled as the two engines puffed away. "You'll get used to her in no time!"

The trip to the goods yard was longer than expected. Smudger was worn out and the sun was beginning to sink by the time they finally arrived and shunted the long train.  
"It would've been shorter," grumbled Candy, "if they finished that valley line. It's supposed to make all of the trips much faster by going through the valley, rather than around it."  
"Well I hope they finish it soon," grunted Smudger, "because my axles have never ached this badly in my life."  
"Quit your whining," snapped Candy crossly, "I take this trip every day! Now let's hurry and get to those empty trucks."  
Smudger was livid. Even Duke had treated him better than this.  
The engines were uncoupled, but as they headed over to collect the train of empty trucks, Smudger felt a jolt. Suddenly, he was off the rails.  
"Well, shoot," he hissed as steam swirled around him.

Candy had no time to wait for Smudger to be put back on the rails, so she headed over to the slate mine without him. As Smudger was levered back onto the line, the Little Controller arrived, looking very exhausted.  
"I'd be cross with you," he said, "but we needed an engine to stay here for the night anyway. As soon as you're back on your rails, please shunt the next train and wait in the siding until morning. Tomorrow, as soon as you're done with work, we'll send you to the shed to have your new buffers fitted."  
Smudger sighed in relief. "Yes sir," he said as the Little Controller walked sternly away.  
He spent the rest of the evening shunting trucks into their proper sidings. The last train to pass through was Candy's, her trucks filled with slate. She didn't say a word to him; all she did was shoot him a nasty look and puff away.


	7. Book 2, Chapter 2

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 2: Valley Engines**

**

* * *

Expectations**

Smudger felt much better the next day. He was determined not to let any of the other engines let him feel down.  
"I'll work much harder today," he promised his Driver.  
"We'll see about that," chuckled his Driver. Once Smudger was steaming nicely, he began to shunt all of the trucks into different trains, ready for other engines to collect them.  
In a nearby shed, there were some coaches. Smudger quietly brought them to the nearby station platform. He wanted to take the train himself, but he knew he couldn't; this train was for Edward Mann to take.

As he waited in the siding for Edward to arrive, he saw another engine appear on the line from the Big Railway. It was a small, green tank engine who was attached to a long, blue coach. Smudger was very surprised. He had never seen an engine like her before.  
"Hello there!" she said cheerfully as the passengers left her coach. "You must be the Little Railway's new engine."  
"Yes, I am," said Smudger nervously. "My name is Smudger."  
"Interesting name," chucked the tank engine. "My name's Naomi. It's a real pleasure to meet you."

Naomi told Smudger all about the Big Railway. Takao had begun to build it, and by the time she arrived nearly 50 years ago, the railway had nearly stretched from one end of the island to the other.  
"Takao is a very hard worker, despite his age," she said gleefully. "Hiro's friendly too, and he works twice as hard as anyone."  
"Who is Hiro?"  
"He's a special engine built right here at our own works," Naomi explained. "He's an engineering marvel, they say. He works for the Other Railway, but our drivers all call him, 'Master of the Railway'."  
Just then, a long, black engine rushed by the station, whistling proudly. He was pulling a goods train longer than any train Smudger had seen before.

"That was him," Naomi said with a romantic sigh. "There's no other engine like him out there."  
The signal dropped, and all of Naomi's passengers had gotten into the little coaches. "Edward will be here to take them soon," said Naomi. "It was a pleasure to meet you!" And she chuffed away.  
As she left, however, the Stationmaster appeared. He spoke to Smudger's Driver.  
"It seems Edward's broken down, and he can't take the train," the Driver told Smudger. "I know you haven't gotten used to the line yet, but can you take it for him?"  
"I'll give it my best," said Smudger confidently, remembering his promise.

Smudger was soon coupled to the train. The Guard blew his whistle and waved his flag, and then hopped into the Guard's van as Smudger puffed away.  
He passed the mine where Candy was working the other day, and sped on into the open country. Smudger smiled as he puffed faster down the line. He was being very careful not to ride rough; pulling this train was too much fun, and he didn't want to ruin it now.  
Along the line were little houses. People came out and waved at him, and Smudger happily whistled back.

At long last, Smudger arrived at the North Station. The passengers all thanked him for the lovely ride, and Smudger shunted the coaches into their siding.  
Exhausted but happy, Smudger rested by the platform. Next to him, much to his surprise, was Hiro, waiting with a flatbed.  
"You must be Smudger," he said with a kind smile. "Your Controller wants you to go to the works now, and have your new buffers fitted."  
Smudger was still tired but he forced a grin. "Yeah, thanks," he said sheepishly, "but can I take a quick break? That run wore me out..."  
"Of course," laughed Hiro. "I know just what you mean."

The sun was setting as Hiro pulled Smudger to the works. The two engines chattered all the way there.  
"Hey, listen," said Smudger. "I know you've only been here a little while longer than I have, but do you like it here?"  
"I love it here," replied Hiro warmly. "There's lots of track to stretch your wheels on, and plenty of work to do. Trust me, once you work here, you won't want to work anywhere else."  
Smudger looked up. He yawned as he watched the sun slowly sink over the horizon. "I hope so," he muttered quietly as the gentle rocking of the flatbed lulled him to sleep.


	8. Book 2, Chapter 3

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 2: Valley Engines**

**

* * *

Lewis**

Smudger soon had two nice pairs of buffers. While they were being fitted, they also gave him the number 2 on his side. They also checked his wheels, to insure that he wouldn't derail like he used to.  
The Little Controller monitored everything. "Hopefully now," he told Smudger kindly, "you can be a better engine than you were on Sodor. It costs us a lot of money to get you here, and I want you to prove yourself to me."  
"Yes, or course sir," Smudger replied. He was eager to start work again.  
"Tomorrow," the Little Controller said, "you'll be taken to the Site. There's lots of trucks there that need to be taken to the Harbor soon, and we need to get the job done as soon as possible."

The next day, Smudger was loaded onto a flatbed, and a large green engine pulled him away. She seemed to recognize him.  
"Smudger!" she whistled happily. "It's nice to see you again! It's me, the other engine from the boat!"  
Smudger was surprised. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "You look great!"  
"I know," she said with a smile. "They gave me a fresh coat of paint, and gave me a name. I'm called Misaki now! I like it," she continued with a giggle. "It's a pretty name."  
Misaki told Smudger about the Site. "It's an ammunition dump from the Mainland," she said grimly. "Their Army stored weapons and waste there, and now they want it all back. And you might have to work with Lewis..." she said with a look of disgust.

When they arrived, Smudger soon found out who Lewis was. He was the Army's big brown tank engine, who spent his time during the war shunting trucks of weapons and ammo. He had a scar on his face, and he didn't look friendly at all.  
When Smudger was lowered onto the rails, Lewis immediately began to order him about. "Hurry along now!" he snapped at Smudger, who was just having his fire lit. "These trains need to be in place tonight! There's no slacking off here!"  
"I'm just getting ready," Smudger grumbled. "Give me a minute, why don't you?"  
"I shouldn't even give you a second!" Lewis retorted. "If you're not working, you're dawdling, and I don't take well to dawdling. Now get a move on!"

Smudger worked hard that day, and tried his best not to let Lewis get to him. He shunted long lines of trucks filled with wastes and explosives into sidings, and stayed as cautious as he possibly could, all while feeling Lewis breathing down his smokebox.  
"You're too slow, private!" snapped Lewis. "At your rate, the job will never be finished!"  
"I'll finish on time!" Smudger said with a glare. "And besides, this stuff is dangerous. I can't rush with these."  
"You should watch your back then," growled Lewis. "Orders are orders, this job must be finished immediately!" And before his Driver could check him, Lewis rumbled out of his siding, bumping into the last truck of Smudger's train and derailing it. Smudger was livid!

Smudger's truck was back on the rails just as Edward Mann arrived. "Not going well?" he asked.  
"I'd be finished if that army jerk wasn't here," hissed Smudger. "He keeps rushing me, and he's driving me mad!"  
"His antics will catch up to him eventually," sighed Edward, "He only does what he's told, and never listens to common sense. Now let's get this job done before the Little Controller arrives."  
Smudger was much happier with Edward, and the two set to work at once. The trucks liked to bother Smudger, but they knew that even grinning at Edward was a mistake.

Later, the two were resting at the water tower. Lewis puffed alongside them. "Tired already?" he said rudely. "Quit slacking off and get back to work this instant!"  
"We've been working all day!" Smudger sighed.  
"We'll be back at work soon," Edward Mann said, somehow keeping his cool.  
"You'd better be," Lewis snarled, "or there WILL be trouble from the Officers. Now then, if you'll excuse me!"  
He hurried away to fetch some trucks. But he didn't know that the tracks beneath him had been weakened from tunnels being dug underground, which had been filled with weapons and ammo. As he puffed towards the trucks, he missed the warning sign next to him. The ground gave way beneath his wheels, and with a loud boom, he slid down into the disused tunnel.

His Driver and Fireman were unhurt, but Lewis was now in an awkward position. The Little Controller soon arrived.  
"We haven't got time to pull you out, Lewis," he said. "Smudger, Edward Mann, can you two finish the job on your own? You can rescue Lewis as soon as you're finished."  
The two engines grinned at each other. "Of course, Sir," they replied. "We'll be done before you know it."  
Lewis could only grumble in unprecedented fury as the other two engines, whistling cheerfully, hurried away to finish their work.


	9. Book 2, Chapter 4

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 2: Valley Engines**

**

* * *

Fire Play**

It wasn't long before Smudger and Edward Mann had finished their jobs and pulled Lewis free of the hole, and the following morning, they went back to their own shed to do their own work.  
Later in the day, they came back to the Site. All of the open trucks had been covered by tarpaulins to prevent their dangerous content from leaking out. Edward Mann, having done the same work before, was put in charge.  
"Listen," he said to Smudger and Candy. "No bickering from the two of you today. Candy, you and I will take the open wagons. Smudger, follow up with the tankers. We'll shunt our trucks onto the upper pear, and the crane will lower them onto the barge from there."  
"And what about Lewis?" asked Smudger.  
"Don't listen to anything he says," Edward said grimly. "You have your orders from the Little Controller, not him. If he harasses you, ignore him and report him to me."

Edward and Candy buffered up to their trains, and puffed away backwards, with their trains in front of them. Smudger whistled "goodbye" and then ran around to collect his own train.  
He was waiting at the signal when he saw Lewis sitting in a siding, being fired up for the first time since yesterday.  
"He'd better not try anything today," Smudger grunted to himself. "I don't want to deal with the likes of him."  
"It'll be fine," said his Driver as the signal dropped. "Now then, how about before we go to the harbor we stop for coal and water first?"

It was late in the evening by the time Edward and Candy arrived to the harbor with their trains. One of the cranes was soon busy picking up the trucks and lowering them into the waiting barge below.  
The sun soon vanished from sight. Edward was worried; Smudger hadn't arrived yet. His train was finished first, so he ran around to the other siding to watch Candy's train be loaded.  
Candy carefully shunted her train on the siding closest to the crane. She was just pulling out of the siding and was on the points when Lewis appeared.  
"You there!" he barked. "Little yellow box! Move aside there, I have a delivery to make!"

"You're not talking to ME now, are you?" hissed Candy.  
"Yes, you!" Lewis said. "Move aside. I've got Orders to bring this truck to your barge!"  
"You shouldn't interfere in the middle of a job," pointed out Edward.  
"Nobody's talking to you, old timer!" Lewis growled. Edward felt insulted, and the stupid trucks giggled.  
"Quiet!" Candy snapped at the trucks. "Edward's right. I'm not letting you through until this job's finished."

Just then, Smudger arrived with his train. "I went for some water and coal," he explained, "but I got held up at the signalbox. Something about..." he stopped, staring at Lewis. "...orders? What's going on? I'm next on the schedule."  
"We'll see about that, young one," Lewis puffed. "If I want to move, I'll move!" And quiet suddenly, he pushed Candy, derailing her. He rushed forward and bashed into Candy's waiting train. There was a sudden crack from inside the trucks, and they erupted in flames.  
Smudger, Candy, and Edward were horrified. Lewis suddenly looked flustered, wide-eyed and worried, unable to turn a wheel.

Thinking quickly, Smudger moved off the points. "Edward!" he said. "Go get that Army nut out of there! I'll help Candy!"  
Edward tooted in reply, and hurried into the siding. As Smudger pushed his trucks clear from the fire, Edward puffed off to the signalbox, with Lewis in tow. Smudger then hurried back to help Candy.  
The fire was starting to spread around. "Help me! Hurry!" cried Candy.  
Not wasting any time, Smudger was coupled to Candy. He pulled on her his hardest, and it wasn't long before she was back on the rails.  
The two puffed away just in time. As they left, a truck fell apart, its burning ashes landing in the barge below. There was a rumbling explosion, and water flooded in through a newly-ripped hole on the side. With the harbor still burning, the barge sunk down into the murky sea water.

At the signalbox, Edward warned about the harbor fire, and before long, the fire department arrived to control the flames. By the time they had put the fire out, the side of the harbor was wrecked.  
The following morning the Little Controller came to the sheds to see the engines. "You are all Really Useful," he said happily. "Thanks to your quick actions, nobody was severely hurt, and the fire was contained before it could get out of hand. Well done, all of you!"  
As he left, Candy looked bashfully at Smudger. "Thanks for helping me back there," she said quietly. "I really owe you one."  
"It was nothing," Smudger said modestly. "We're all engines on this railway. We should look out for each other, right?"  
Candy said nothing. She had a lot to think about.


	10. Book 3, Chapter 1

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 3: Heroic Engines**

_

* * *

Dear Friends,_

_In the last book, Smudger, the little new engine on the Lower Valley Railway, told me all about when he first joined the railway many years ago. His railway stretches across the eastern side of the Island, serving many farmers, industries, and villages cheaply._

_"But after Lewis's fire," Smudger explained, "we were so busy cleaning up the mess that we nearly forgot about our other work! The Little Controller didn't like that at all."_

_He went on to tell me about an interesting incident from one bitter winter of 1951…_

_The Author_

**

* * *

Smudger to the Rescue**

One evening, the little engines were resting in the sheds. The skies above them had turned a murky grey color.  
"The winter will be here soon," said Edward Mann in a worried tone. "Once the snow falls, it'll be much more difficult to get around."  
"I hate the snow," shivered Candy. She was weaker than the other engines, so she had much more trouble pushing through the snowdrifts.  
Just that moment, the Little Controller arrived. "Your new snowplows will be arriving at the harbor tonight," he said, "so I want you all to go there now, so we can start work early tomorrow. We can't let the weather delay us."  
"Yes, Sir," they all replied, and they scurried off to the harbor.

When they arrived, the sun had already set, and a full moon illuminated the harbor waters. The harbor ran on a special dual-gauge line, so both little engine and big engines could run on the same track.  
The engines backed into a siding, waiting for their snowplows to arrive. Just then, Smudger noticed a familiar man standing next to something massive on the rails, dark grey with "SCRAP" chalked all over.  
"Isn't that the Representative?" he asked. Before the other engines could stop him, he had hurried over to get a closer look.  
"Smudger!" said the Representative. "Just the engine I wanted to see! I need some help, if you don't mind."

The Representative pointed to the big object next to him. "I've just rescued this engine from scrap," he explained, "and I need to find him a good home. I know he doesn't look much like a steam engine, but once he's all fixed up, he'll be one of the most amazing engines you've ever seen. Can you find a bigger engine to take him to the Big Railway?"  
Smudger stared at the big engine. He felt a small pain in his boiler. "I won't have to find anyone else," Smudger said. "We'll take him there ourselves."  
Edward and Candy had just pulled alongside. "Are you crazy?" Candy hissed.  
"Don't be foolish," snapped Edward. "Even if we all put our effort into it, I don't think we could pull him."  
"Well we have to do something!" Smudger said. "That could have been me!"

The other two engines stared at him. Smudger glanced up at the big engine and sighed.  
"I could've just been easily scrapped myself," he said. "I was lucky to have been bought when I was. I don't think any engine should have to live with that kind of fear…you know? The Big Railway's carriage shed isn't too far from here," Smudger insisted. "We can at least make it that far."  
Edward and Candy glanced at each other. "It'll be really difficult," said Edward, "but if it's this important…"  
Their drivers talked for a bit, and soon began to make preparations.

Lewis the military engine was sleeping in a siding. After the fire accident, he had to stay there and help clean up the mess. He woke up and saw what was going on, and before he knew it, the other three engines had dragged him into their plan.  
The four little engines formed a line in front of the big engine. Lewis was at the back, followed by Smudger, then Edward, and finally Candy. They were all coupled to each other, and strong ropes were fastened between Lewis and the runaway engine.  
On the Representative's signal, Lewis, Smudger, and Edward all began to pull. As they began to pick up speed, Candy began to pull too. They were soon clear of the harbor and gently puffing along, the big engine rattling behind them.

The sun was rising by the time they arrived at the Big Railway's carriage sheds. The dual gauge line ended here, so they shunted the engine into a siding.  
Suddenly, Misaki, one of the Big Railway's tank engines and a good friend of Smudger's, pulled up alongside. When they explained to her the situation, she was only too happy to help. She coupled up to the engine, who was by now fast asleep, and shunted him slowly into the sheds.  
"You all should hurry back now," she advised, "before somebody else catches you wandering around here."  
"Thank you, Misaki!" Smudger whispered as the four engines hurried away. He was exhausted and knew he'd probably get into trouble later, but he'd never felt so proud of himself before.


	11. Book 3, Chapter 2

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 3: Heroic Engines**

**

* * *

Confusion and Delay**

The three engines arrived back at the sheds, and Lewis hurried away back towards the harbor. The Little Controller soon arrived. "So," he began, "have your new snowplows been fitted?"  
The three engines glanced nervously at each other. "Erm," Candy said, "the ship carrying them was delayed, Sir. It should be docking later today though."  
The Little Controller sighed. "All right then," he said. "You'll have to use your old ones until then. Candy, your train is ready. Smudger, Edward Mann, you'll be helping out the farmworkers today."  
"Yes, Sir," the three engines said. Candy shivered as she watched the snow begin to fall from the dark clouds.

Lewis was on his way back to the harbor. The line back passes by the nearby farms, which use the Little Railway as a means for cheap transportation of goods to the villages. Lewis was nearly back when a farmer stopped him.  
"Some other engines were coming later," he said, "but since you're here now, can you please deliver my fruits to the market?"  
"Yes, of course sir," Lewis said without thinking. He was coupled up to the trucks and trundled off before wondering who the "other engines" were.  
"I'm already doing the work," he said to himself. "I'm sure nobody will really notice…"

Meanwhile, Candy was puffing along with her coal trucks. The snow was getting thicker around her as she hurried along. Her driver, exposed to the cold, huddled in his thick jacket.  
She pushed her hardest through the snowdrifts, but the next one was always bigger than the last. Finally she found a drift far too large for her to push through safely.  
"We'll have to go back to the Yard," her Driver said. "Lewis should be able to help us."  
Candy sighed and reversed her train. As she chuffed into the yard, she whistled at Smudger and Edward, who were off to collect the goods from the farms.

At the Big Railway's carriage shed. Naomi was just waking up from her peaceful sleep. She loved how the morning sun shone bright through the thick clouds, making the falling snow around them sparkle. It was almost magical.  
Then she realized there was something next to her that wasn't there before. She grew stiff and nervous. She slowly glanced over to see what the intruder was. It was a long, grey engine, who easily towered over her. He was filthy, covered in dirt and bits of rust, and "SCRAP" was chalked all over.  
Naomi was frozen in terror. The big engine opened one sleepy eye and glanced down at her. "Oh, good morning," he said.  
Naomi's scream of terror could be heard for miles!

Meanwhile, Candy was growing impatient. Her Driver had tried calling the harbor, but Lewis had not arrived back yet. "Where could he be?" she shivered crossly. "I hate being late."  
Just then, Smudger and Edward arrived back, looking worried. "Our train's missing," Edward said. "The farmers say some other engine was there to take it for us."  
"It must've been Lewis then," Candy said bitterly. "What on Earth does he think he's doing out there? I need him to push snow for me!"  
"We'll take his place," said Smudger. "We won't be late, I promise."  
Candy glanced suspiciously at him, but reluctantly agreed.

Smudger and Edward Mann traveled in front. As Smudger was bigger, he would charge at the snow first, and then Edward would follow behind to push aside whatever was left. Candy's train made good time, and the three headed back to the Sheds together.  
But when they arrived, they found the Little Controller waiting for them. He was with a slightly taller, older man. This was the Big Controller, who ran the Big Railway.  
"I've just called the harbor. They say Lewis is missing, and your snowplows have been waiting there since last night," the Little Controller said sternly. "And I've just heard of an engine appearing on the other railway that wasn't there before. Mind explaining what REALLY happened last night?"  
The engines gulped. They knew they had been caught.  
"It's my fault, Sir," Smudger said sadly. He took a deep breath and explained to the two controllers what had happened.

The controllers stared. Smudger was worried now, wondering if the engine they worked so hard to save would now be scrapped.  
But the Big Controller looked pleased. "Well done!" he said with a chuckle. "We've needed a new engine for some time now, and this will be a perfect addition to our railway!"  
Smudger's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe what he had heard!  
"He'll be sent to our Works right away," he continued. He then spoke to the Little Controller. "You should be proud," he said kindly, "to have such heroic engines on your railway."  
The Little Controller smiled at the three engines. "Indeed I am."


	12. Book 3, Chapter 3

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 3: Heroic Engines**

**

* * *

The Tale of Tyler**

The rescued engine, whose old number was 36006, was taken away to the Big Railway's works by Hiro. "He's a very interesting engine," he told the little engines. "I hope they make him Really Useful soon."  
"Of course they will," Edward Mann said earnestly. "They're some sort of magic with how well they handle their engines."  
"Well I hope I get to go there again," Smudger put in. "My axels are aching so badly!"  
As the temperature grew lower, the engines worked harder. Smudger had never worked so hard before in his life, and he was beginning to wear out. But much to everyone's surprise, he wouldn't let that stop him.

On the night before New Year's, Smudger finally met his limits. Edward's fire wouldn't light, and he didn't want his train to be delayed.  
"I'll take it for him," Smudger said. His Driver was concerned about the strain Smudger had been under, but eventually agreed.  
Edward's goods train was heavier than Smudger had anticipated, but he struggled on anyway. He was only halfway to the next junction when his safety valve burst. Hissing mournfully, he ground to a halt.  
His Driver examined him carefully. The cold winter air whipped around Smudger's cooling boiler. "Yeah," his Driver finally said, "there's no way you can pull this train anymore.

Lewis came to take the train, and Candy helped the shivering Smudger back to the sheds. Once they arrived back, Edward was finally in steam, and hurried away to take Candy's train.  
Smudger and Candy were alone in the shed. The doors were closed, and they could hear the icy wind whistling through the cracks.  
Candy finally spoke. "Hey," she said, "I owe you an apology."  
Smudger stared. "You do?" he asked meekly.  
"Yeah. I treated you horribly when I first met you, and you didn't deserve that, especially since I didn't even know you back then. I guess it's because I was still upset about Tyler."  
"Who's Tyler?"

"Tyler was my twin," Candy explained. "Both built at the same time, right here on the Island. We used to work at the slate mines together. He was always a little more headstrong than me, and ready to take on a challenge, while I wanted to follow directions and play it safe.  
"The railway eventually bought the mine, and we both got our numbers. He was 2, and I was 3. We got to do a lot more now that we were part of a bigger railway, and we were really happy. He still took risks, and always jumped at the opportunity to pull any train. 'You need to take what life gives you and roll with it,' is what he always said to me."  
Candy chuckled to herself, even though her eyes had begun to water. "He was a bit of an idiot," she said with a faint smile.

"Eventually the war broke out, and the mainland wanted to buy one of us to use for trenches. Tyler begged the Little Controller to let him go, and eventually he did. I was really upset, and asked him not to go.  
"'It's a life experience,' he said to me, 'and I'll be doing some good for the country. Besides, I'll be helping to protect my sister, right?'  
"I really didn't want him to leave. I had a horrible feeling about it. But Tyler had made up his mind, so they sent him away on a big ship…"  
Candy couldn't hold back her tears any longer. "After that," she said, "we heard about what happened in Hiroshima…"

Smudger was horrified. Candy looked at him through her sad eyes. "There was almost nothing left of him by the time they found him," she said sadly. "So they melted his parts down and put them to other use.  
"I must've cried for days. I wanted to know why he didn't listen to me, why he chose to get himself blown up…that idiot, that idiot…"  
Smudger frowned. He hadn't a clue about what to say. "I'm really sorry…" he said slowly.  
"Well…" Candy sighed. "He did his best, and even after he was scrapped, they put his parts to good use…and we still have his old nameplate, so I'll always have a part of him."

"Anyway," Candy went on, "when you arrived, the Little Controller said you'd take on Tyler's old number. I always saw him as a hard worker, and when I heard about what you went through, I thought you'd bring shame onto his number…"  
Smudger flustered in embarrassment, remembering how he derailed on his very first day.  
But Candy was smiling softly at him. "But you proved me wrong," she said. "After everything that's happened, I think Tyler would've been proud to see you running with his number."  
Smudger smiled. "I'm glad to hear that, Candy," he said.  
And the two engines have been inseparable friends ever since.


	13. Book 3, Chapter 4

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 3: Heroic Engines**

**

* * *

Morning Light**

Spring finally arrived on the Island. This meant that it would soon be flower-viewing time, a very special tradition. People would come from the mainland and from other places far away to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom.  
This meant that more passengers would be riding on both railways, so everybody had to help out. But the engines were excited for another reason too. The lines through the valley were almost completed, and there was something special planned for the very first train through it.  
Edward Mann and Takao, the oldest engines, would talk about nothing but the new line. "The view is amazing," they would tell the others. "You're going to love it."

Smudger's condition had gotten worse. He strained when pulling trains, and often needed help from the other engines. Lewis was especially critical of this.  
"You shouldn't be working like this," he said darkly as he buffered up behind Smudger's train. "A museum seems like a much better place for engines like you."  
"Right," laughed Smudger as he strained with his coaches, "like I'd ever just give up and become part of a museum collection."  
"Takao's fast on his way," Lewis continued, "and I'm sure they'd make room for one more engine."

One morning, Smudger was puffing out of the sheds to take his train when his firebars collapsed. They had to push him back into the shed and use the hot coal on the ground to start Candy's fire instead.  
"You've worked yourself to bits!" his Driver laughed. "It's about time you got some rest, old boy."  
They left the shed doors open so Smudger could watch the passing trains. The other engines whistled cheerfully at him as they puffed along.  
Smudger could only sigh enviously. He wished he was the one pulling the trains. He longed for a chance to see the flowers that the passengers and other engines chattered about.

One evening, Lewis was ordered to pull Smudger to the harbor. He left the worn-out tank engine in a siding by a harbor crane, and hurried away to finish his own work.  
Just then, a big, square, green engine pulled into view with a flatbed. Smudger was amazed. The engine was the one he had helped rescue form scrap!  
The Little and Big Controllers greeted him warmly. "Please welcome," they said proudly, "the newest Upper Valley Railway's newest engine. Tomorrow, you will be taken to the Works for a full overhaul, after his official naming ceremony."  
Smudger smiled the biggest smile he had smiled in months. "Thank you, Sirs," he said as the crane slowly lifted him onto the flatbed.

On the day of the naming ceremony, all of the little and big engines gathered at the Main Station. Lots of people and photographers were there, and the new engine's nameplate was covered with a curtain.  
Both Controllers gave rousing speeches, and everybody cheered. "Please tell everyone," they said, "that for any engine who wants to be Really Useful, they will always have a home here on our beautiful valley railways."  
These words were followed by thunderous applause. Finally, the two Controllers headed to the new engine and pulled off the curtain to reveal his new name.  
"Ladies and Gentlemen," said the Big Controller, "Please welcome 'Morning Light'!"  
Everyone clapped and cheered, and all of the engines whistled with joy. Smudger, waiting patiently on his flatbed, could only smile for his new friend.

The little engines were honored as heroes too, and had their photographs taken. Eventually, it was time for Morning Light to leave with Smudger. Everybody whistled goodbye, and Morning Light puffed away from the station. As they sped along, they passed Hiro, who was too busy with mainland work to come to the ceremony. But he whistled proudly at them, and Morning Light whistled back.  
They headed down a line Smudger had never seen before, and suddenly, he found them puffing along the new valley line. Smudger gasped in awe.  
The sun was shining brightly over the valley. Birds were singing, the river at the bottom was sparkling, and flowers were blooming. Pink cherry blossoms, blown by the wind, swirled all around him. Smudger had never seen something so beautiful before.  
"It's amazing…" he said, his eyes misty with tears of joy.

They arrived safely at the works, and Morning Light said goodbye, and the two engines thanked each other for everything.  
Sometime later, Smudger finally came home. He felt better than ever before, and had a brand new coat of paint. He was now a rich blue with red stripes, his side rods were red, and his name and number were painted on in white.  
When the other engines saw him, they hardly recognized him, and thought he looked wonderful. Once he was in steam, he pulled his first train through the new valley line.  
Smudger still remembers his home on Sodor, and he remembers Duke, and he keeps him in his heart. But he also loves his new home, and now, just as Hiro had promised, he wouldn't want to be anywhere else.


	14. Book 4, Chapter 1

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 4: Katsu the Mine Engine**

_

* * *

Dear Friends,_

_The news from Keikan Island has not been all good. While the new valley line made transportation easier and faster, it also brought about the closure of a mine. A very small engine named Katsu worked there, and was worried that he would be scrapped, but now he is part of the Upper Valley Railway, and is a much happier engine._

_I told him I'd be putting him in one of my books, and he was delighted. Though I hope it didn't make him too puffed up in his smokebox…_

_The Author_

**

* * *

Terrible Trucks**

Katsu is a little tank engine who works for the Wild Rock Mining Corporation. He has two small wheels, a short squat funnel, a short squat boiler, and a short squat cab.  
The mine has very low tunnels, and for safety restrictions, they cannot go any higher. Other larger engines can't go in the mine, but Katsu can puff along inside with ease. He has bright yellow buffers and a loud whistle, so the miners can always know he's coming.  
Every day, Katsu pushes long lines of trucks into the tunnel, down a steep dip, and deep into the mines, were they are loaded with fresh coal for the railway. Then he goes outside and shunts long trains for the big engines to transport far away.

Katsu thinks none of the other engines work as hard as he does. He loves telling them all about his adventures in the mines. This often gets the bigger engines cross.  
He was talking to Misaki one morning about this. "Others don't seem to understand," Katsu boasted, "how important my job is. Without my coal, none of the engines here would ever run again!"  
"But we also need our passengers," Misaki said. "Without them, our railway will be worthless, and we would all be scrap."  
"Pah!" said Katsu. "Passengers are just nuisances. They only complain about every train they ride, and tell everybody we have a bad railway."

Misaki was upset. She and Naomi loved taking passengers.  
"Trust me," Katsu said, "there's no work quite like industry. Enjoy your pretty passenger trains while you can." And he chuffed away to shunt more trucks.  
Misaki puffed away with her train, but she couldn't help but want to pay Katsu out.  
Later, she was preparing to return with more trucks. As she collected them, they heard her grumbling about Katsu.  
"She's been treating us nicely," they consulted together. "Let's do her a favor and bump that red squirt!"  
"Bump him! Trash him!" chanted and laughed the trucks; but Misaki didn't hear them.

When Misaki arrived, she pushed the trucks into their siding, and looked around for Katsu, but she couldn't see him anywhere. "I'll just move the trucks onto his tunnel line for him," she said thoughtfully. "Then the work will be finished quicker, and maybe he'll be nicer to me."  
She consulted her driver, who agreed, and she pushed the trucks right in front of the tunnel. The guard put their brakes on, to prevent them from rolling down, and Misaki chuffed away. The foreman, who should've saw and stopped them, was away for his lunch break.

They couldn't have known that Katsu was still inside. When he emerged to get coal and water, he saw a long line of trucks blocking his away. They sneered and giggled at him.  
"What are you lot doing here?" he demanded. "Get out of my way!"  
But the trucks didn't move, so he tried to push them away. The brakes held tight, and the trucks stayed where they were. The trucks joked and sang loudly. "Katsu is so weak and small; he's just not much use at all!"  
Katsu was furious. "Fine then!" he snorted. "I'll just pull you away."

He was coupled up and pulled the trucks with all his might. They hardly moved, and they laughed louder at him.  
Suddenly, the coupling cracked, and Katsu rolled back down into the mine at tremendous speed. "HELP! HELP!" he shouted, but his Driver and Fireman had been knocked off the footplate. He rolled down over the dip and deep into the mine caverns, unable to stop himself.  
When he finally did stop, he was almost at the other entrance to the mine. But by now, he was completely out of water. Some workmen put out his fire and examined him.  
"We won't be able to get you out right now," they finally said, "so you'll have to stay here for the night. Tomorrow, another engine will be able to pull you out."  
"_Chikusho_," hissed Katsu angrily.

Katsu hated the mine at night. The echoing sounds of falling rocks and creaking supports kept him up all night. He was very relieved when morning finally came.  
Misaki approached the tunnel and a winch was used to connect the two engines. Slowly and carefully, she pulled him out of the tunnel. After he was checked for any problems, Misaki shunted him to the nearby water tower, and he had a long drink.  
"Well, well, well!" she chucked as he filled up. "Mine work really IS an adventure, isn't it?"  
Katsu had no steam to reply, but his feelings were far beyond words!


	15. Book 4, Chapter 2

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 4: Katsu the Mine Engine  
**

**

* * *

Katsu's Wild Ride**

Katsu loved his mining job very much, but one day the Manager came to see him. He had bad news.  
"We've decided that operating you down there is too big of a risk," he said. "The narrow gauge line reaches here now, so we'll be expanding our operations to use them instead."  
"But what about me?" asked Katsu sadly. "Where am I going to go?"  
"Don't you worry," the Manager replied. "You can stay on the Upper Valley Railway until we decide what to do with you."  
Katsu didn't like the sound of that at all.

For the next few days, Katsu had to help prepare the area for the new operations. New tunnels were going to be added above the old mine and new chutes would be used to load trucks with coal from the line above. Katsu worked hard, but he was still upset about losing his job.  
One day, a big engine he had never seen before arrived, bringing wagons with building supplies. This engine's name was Ryu. He worked for the mainland's special line, but Ryu was slightly smaller and didn't have the best attitude.  
"It's a shame they're replacing you," he said. "I guess that makes you Really Useless now!"  
Katsu snorted. "I've done more work in my lifetime than you could ever hope to achieve!" he said defiantly.

Ryu left his train of building materials into a siding. "Keep telling yourself that, squirt," he said.  
Katsu sighed and pushed the empty trucks away. Then he had an idea.  
"You see those trucks over there?" he said, looking towards the blocked tunnel. "We haven't been able to get them to move. Can you take care of them for us?"  
Ryu laughed. "You can't move THAT lot?" he said. "Of course I'll move them."  
Ryu didn't know that ever since Katsu's accident, the brakes had jammed, and none of the workmen could get them off, so they were left to be taken care of later.

Ryu puffed up to the trucks and began to pull with all his might, but they wouldn't budge.  
The trucks chuckled and sang, "He's so proud, he's so big; but Ryu's weaker than a twig!"  
Ryu was insulted. "How dare you common trucks mock me!" he growled. He pushed up against the trucks and pushed with all of his puff.  
"Hold back! Hold back!" they called. They pushed against him, and Ryu's wheels spun helplessly on the rails.  
Ryu was distraught. He was determined to move the trucks now.

Ryu backed away and then, will full steam, charged at the trucks. The brakes snapped, and they thundered down the line, smashing into the boarded-up tunnel.  
"Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!" they cheered as they dropped into the dip and out of sight.  
Ryu felt quite proud of himself. "See?" he said to Katsu, who had pulled alongside. "Nothing to it."  
"Baka!" snapped Katsu furiously. "You're not supposed to bring anything down there! It's closed up for a reason!"  
Ryu, blushing in embarrassment, backed away into a siding.

The workmen examined the tunnel. "You're the only one who can get them," they said to Katsu. "Can you do it as quickly as possible?"  
"Of course!" said Katsu with spirit. "Just leave everything to me."  
So they got out of his way, Katsu built up lots of steam, and he charged down into the tunnel.  
The trucks were at the bottom of the steep dip. He bashed into them and pushed them towards level ground. His driver coupled them up, and Katsu puffed back out of the tunnel as fast as his wheels could carry him.

When he emerged, the workmen cheered for him and his crew. The trucks, shaken by their stunt, were put in a siding next to Ryu.  
"Well done!" the workmen told Katsu. "You're a Really Reliable Engine! We're going to miss working with you."  
Katsu smiled. "Thanks, I'll miss it too," he said as he looked at the old mine.  
They didn't mend the hole right away. After they were finished, they let Katsu run through the mine one more time before closing it for good.


	16. Book 4, Chapter 3

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 4: Katsu the Mine Engine**

**

* * *

Takao's Last Stand**

When Katsu arrived at the railway's sheds, he found only one old engine in there.  
"Welcome to our humble home," said Takao as Katsu puffed in beside him.  
"Thanks…" said Katsu. He was still upset. What if the company decided to scrap him?  
"Don't worry about a thing," Takao said reassuringly. "If anything happens, our Controller will take care of you. He couldn't imagine ever scrapping an engine."  
Katsu smiled wearily. "Thanks for that," he said as he went uncomfortably to sleep.

Takao was too old to pull long trains, so his main job now was shunting long lines of coaches and trucks for the bigger engines to take. But Takao's age was catching up quicker than he hoped, and work was much more difficult than it used to be.  
One crisp morning, he shunted a long passenger train for Morning Light to take. As he pushed them to the platform, his Driver noticed he was leaking lots of steam.  
"No more work for you today," he said firmly as he left the station. "We need to have you looked over before you become broken beyond repair."

Morning Light, who his friends called Akio, was very big and strong, but was sometimes prone to breaking down. He wasn't feeling particularly healthy that morning, but he refused to let another engine take his train.  
"I can manage just fine," he huffed to his Driver. So they made it to the station and he took his train as usual. But his fire just couldn't burn hot enough, and after struggling for many miles, he ground to a halt on the main line.  
"We'll have to telephone for help now," said his Driver sadly. Akio groaned in misery.

Takao was resting in the shed when he heard the news. "Morning Light's broken down," his Driver said. "Hiro's just arrived to take his train, and Misaki should be there to take Morning Light away, but we can't seem to find her."  
"She's probably busy," said Takao. "Please, may I take him instead?"  
His Driver frowned. "I don't know, old boy. We can't have two broken engines on the main line, you know."  
"I can manage just fine!" Takao wheezed. Not objecting any longer, his Driver and Fireman set to work, and soon Takao was off.

Takao chuffed alongside Akio, hissing mournfully. "Come on then," he puffed, "let's get you out of the way."  
Akio was shocked. "Takao? Don't try to move me; you'll hurt yourself!"  
But the old engine paid no attention. He coupled up and with the biggest puff he had ever taken, he began to pull Akio out of the way.  
"I'll take you…to the shed…" he panted. "The works are…too far…"  
Akio was worried for him. "Please stop, I'm sure Misaki will be here soon…" But Takao wouldn't have a word of it.

The Big Controller was talking to Katsu when the two engines finally arrived. Their jaws dropped when they saw Takao, panting and puffing fit to burst, as he dragged Akio into the shed. He smiled wearily at them.  
"There…I've done it…" he wheezed as his safety valve burst. Steam billowed everywhere as Takao ground to a halt.  
The Big Controller sighed sadly. "That's done it," he said. "He's far too old to be used safely. He can't handle the work anymore."  
Katsu was upset too. "Please, Sir," he asked, "could I take his place?"  
The Big Controller thought about this. "We'll give you a chance," he said, "and if you can do the work efficiently, we'll bring you in as one of our own."

That night, Katsu and Takao spoke solemnly.  
"I was an old fool," Takao said mournfully. "I'm just not the same engine I was when I built the line, I guess."  
"You built the railway?" Katsu asked, impressed.  
"From the ground up," Takao said wearily. "I'm proud of my years of service. Now listen. If you indeed take my place, please do not bring disgrace to my number."  
Katsu looked at the bright number "1" painted on the side of Takao's cab. "Don't worry. I'll do my very, very best," he promised.  
Katsu sounded confident, but inside, he felt more nervous than he had in his whole life.


	17. Book 4, Chapter 4

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 4: Katsu the Mine Engine**

**

* * *

Giving the Slip**

The following morning, Katsu got up early to start work. His Driver and Fireman examined him carefully. They made sure he had plenty of coal and water, and then set off for the Main Station's carriage yard.  
He glared at the coaches and bumped them. "Come along now!" he chuffed. "No dawdling!"  
The coaches were most upset, and bashed back into him. "Steady, boy," said his Driver. "These are used for carrying people, not coal. You have to treat them gently."  
Katsu whined in protest, but then remembered what Takao had asked. As gently as he could, he pushed the coaches to the platform.  
"There, that's much nicer!" said the coaches. "Thank you!"

Akio, who was feeling much better now, soon came and collected his train. He whistled cheerfully at Katsu. "How's the new job?" he asked.  
"Dull," replied Katsu. "I miss the thrill of the mines!"  
Akio laughed. "Don't you worry," he said with a smile. "This is place is very surprising. You don't know what'll happen!"  
"I hope so," sighed Katsu as he went back to the yard. Akio whistled goodbye and chuffed away.

Every day at precisely 2 PM, Hiro puffs in with the big Express train. He pulls the coaches through the Main Station all the way to the Lower Coast, and from there collects his goods train to take back to the Mainland. On his way, one coach is always removed from the train while Hiro puffs along, and it's stopped at the Main Station. The Stationmaster calls this the "slip" coach.  
Naomi then arrives at 2:30 with her passengers, and takes the slip coach down her branch line. She is very proud of her special coach, and she always returns it by nightfall for the Overnight train.

Hiro was usually on-time, but today, Ryu had made him very late. Hiro was puffing as fast as he could to make up for lost time. He and his Guard were so worried about being on time that they forgot about the slip coach.  
Katsu was resting in a siding when Hiro roared past with his train. The Stationmaster came out of his office. "The slip coach will be here soon," he said, and he waited patiently.  
They waited and waited, but the coach didn't come. The Stationmaster was worried. "It didn't get stranded on the main line, did it?" he asked.  
Katsu looked at the clock. Naomi would be there soon, and if her coach wasn't there, and the Big Controller found out…

Hiro pulled into the Lower Coast Station, and ran around for a drink of water. He was closing his eyes just as he heard an incredibly loud whistle.  
Katsu was steaming towards him. "The coach!" he was shouting. "The coach!"  
"Coach?" Hiro asked. Then he looked at the train and counted the coaches. "OH – oh no, the coach!"  
The passengers were relieved to see Katsu. "Please bring us to the Main Station," they said, "and hurry!"  
"Yes, of course," Katsu said. He was coupled to the coach and pulled away as quickly as his wheels could carry him.

Naomi was waiting when Katsu pulled in with the missing coach. She smiled in relief. "Only a few minutes late," she said. "I can make that up easy!" She was coupled to the coach, and after whistling "thank you" to Katsu, she hurried away to make up for lost time.  
That evening, the Big Controller came to see them. Katsu was worried that he would be cross over the coach, but the Big Controller was smiling. "Well done," he said proudly. "Thanks to your quick action, all of the trains today were on-time. Would you like to be painted our green with yellow stripes?"  
"No thanks," Katsu began. "I prefer my red…" he stopped mid-sentence. "Does that mean I get to stay?"  
"I've spoken to your manager," said the Big Controller, "and he's agreed to sell you to me. You can keep your red coat, but we shall paint your new number on first thing tomorrow."

As for Takao, he was moved to the new Keikan Island Railway Museum. He was worried that he'd be nothing but a museum piece, but their workshop fixed him up the best they could, and now he pulls special demonstration trains for tourists.  
He is never lonely; other engines stop at the nearby station and tell him all the news. He loves hearing all the news about the railways, both big and small.  
But most of all, Takao likes to hear about a little red engine who lives at the Main Station and makes sure he and all the other engines are on-time and Really Useful.


	18. Book 5, Chapter 1

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 5: The Little Old Engine**

_

* * *

Dear Friends,_

_I have been talking to Smudger again. He told me while he was being repaired at the Works, another engine was brought in. "He was very old and dirty," he told me, "but he told me all about his old railway, and we ended up being friends pretty quick."_

_He blushed, however, when I asked him about the engine's new unique paint. "That was actually an accident," he told me sheepishly, "but honestly, I'm just glad he likes it!"_

_The Author_

**

* * *

Kudo the Old Engine**

A long time ago, far north of the valley, there was a peaceful little town nestled in the countryside. On this little town was a tramway. There was a small brown tank engine named Kudo, and he would pull is special tram coach all day to the many different parts of the town. He took children to school and people to work. And when he wasn't pulling passengers, he would fetch goods from farms and markets and bring them into town.  
Kudo was very fond of his little line, and made sure to always work his hardest, even on days when he didn't feel well.

His coach, who he had never given a name to, was worried. "I can hear what the people riding me are saying," she told Kudo one day. "A war is about to break out. If it does, they might have to evacuate the town and close our line."  
"Nonsense," Kudo said with a chuckle. "They'd never do that." But all the same, he could feel everybody he knew growing tenser as the days passed. Kudo began to worry.  
"Don't worry," his Driver assured him, "the enemies won't come here anytime soon."

At night, Kudo would dream about his younger years. He remembered one fond spring day, when he was picking up children in his coach to bring them to school. His coach had a special bell to warn everybody that the train was leaving the station soon.  
Just as they had passed the platform, a boy scrambled onto the platform, waving and shouting. "Wait! Wait!" he cried.  
They stopped the train and backed down to collect the boy. "My bicycle was broken," he explained sheepishly, "so I thought I'd take the train instead."

They managed to make up for lost time, and the little boy was so grateful that he thanked Kudo and his crew for being so kind. Even after the boy's bicycle was fixed, he took Kudo's train whenever he could, and the crew even let him into the cab.  
"Trains are so interesting!" he could exclaim. "Someday, I'll be driving one of these."  
The summer came and when, but the boy didn't return the next fall. He had apparently moved south to be with his father.  
"It's a shame," Kudo sighed to himself, remembering. "Maybe he'll come again someday."

One July morning, Kudo was woken with a start by his Driver. "We've declared war on China," he said grimly. "They've already threatened to attack, so the town's being evacuated as soon as possible."  
"Why would they attack our island?" said Kudo worriedly. "We don't even have an army here!"  
"War is a strange and terrible thing," his Driver sighed. "The only problem now is what to do with you two…"  
Kudo and his coach stared at each other. She wanted to say "I told you so," but she was too upset to say a word.

They eventually realized that there was no way of getting Kudo out, as the other narrow gauge railway didn't reach the tramway, and there weren't any vehicles available to take him out by road.  
Finally, they decided to just leave him and his coach in the shed, and pray for the best. Kudo had never been so upset in his whole life.  
His coach tried to make the best of the situation. "Cheer up," she said kindly. "Maybe we can finally come up with my name while were here."  
Kudo chuckled. "Of course," he said, "and once we're out of here, I'll be sure to give that boy one more ride."

Elsewhere, the boy lived with his father, who ran a little railway further south, at the edge of a beautiful valley. As many long years passed, his father grew older, until eventually he decided to retire. When he did, he asked the boy to take his place as the newest Little Controller.  
The new Little Controller loved being in charge of the railway. But when he was alone, he would often wonder to himself what happened to the little old engine from his youth…  
_But I mustn't say anymore, or I might spoil the next story!_


	19. Book 5, Chapter 2

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 5: The Little Old Engine**

**

* * *

Rustbucket**

Ever since Smudger had been sent away to the Works, Lewis the military engine had to help out on the narrow gauge railway. Even though he got his work done, he didn't like it at all. At the sheds, he would complain about not doing any "real work" until he fell asleep.  
But one day, there was a phone call from the military. "They need you to head north of the valley," the Little Controller told him. "They're preparing their old military base to be rebuilt into a new community."  
Lewis was excited. "Yes, sir!" he puffed. He picked up some trucks filled with supplies and he hurried along the valley.

At the site, what he found looked more like a ghost town than a military base. Long ago it was once a peaceful little village, but when the war broke out and bombing threats were issued, the area was evacuated. A few years later, it was converted into a military base and training ground.  
Lewis bustled along the line for several days, carrying workmen, soldiers, and supplies. The base was soon beginning to look like a town again. He would have enjoyed himself a little more, however, if it weren't for Daichi.  
Daichi was a big, military transport vehicle. The ugly big truck could carry people and cargo, and did whatever he could to make Lewis feel inadequate. "You're so old and slow," Daichi would tease. "You should scrap your rails and learn to work as hard as me!"

Lewis was sick of Daichi. He began to wonder how to pay him out. Finally the chance came; one day when Lewis was collecting his trucks, he found Daichi not too far away, being loaded with supplies.  
"Why not just give his load to me?" Daichi told the workmen. "I'll get there much quicker than that old rustbucket!"  
Lewis was infuriated. "Rustbucket?!" he whistled. "I've been through two wars, you ridiculous excuse for a machine, and don't you forget it."  
"Well then," Daichi said boldly, "how about we have a race?"  
Their Drivers, the young restless soldiers that they were, quickly agreed. Before the foreman could stop them, Daichi and Lewis had sped away to the base.

Lewis thundered through the valley, his wheels pounding the rails. His Driver wanted to go even faster, but Lewis's creaking and rocking made him worry. "Steady, steady…" he muttered as he managed to keep Lewis under control.  
As last they cleared the valley, and were rushing into the site. Just then, they heard Daichi not too far behind, honking loudly.  
Lewis saw the old station platform just ahead. "Almost there!" he panted.

His Driver tried to stop, but the rails were old and worn, and Lewis's wheels wouldn't grip. Instead of stopping, Lewis slid right past the platform. "HELP!" he whistled as loud as he could. He rumbled along the old line, down a slope, and smashed right through the door of an old, abandoned shed.  
His Driver and Fireman, who were lucky to have been unhurt, stumbled from the cab. "Oh man," the Fireman groaned. "What will they say when they see…?"  
Before he could finish, the three of them realized they were not alone. Next to them were a little tank engine and a coach, both staring awkwardly at the intruders.

The little old engine spoke first. "H-hello," he stammered. "Who are you?"  
"I'm…I'm Lewis," replied the military engine, finally finding his voice. "What are you doing locked up in an old place like this?"  
The old engine explained what happened during the war. "My name's Kudo, by the way," he finished.  
"Well, erm, Kudo," Lewis said, "let's get you and your coach out of here. I know of a…"  
"Excuse me," interrupted Kudo. "Her name's Yume."  
Yume smiled broadly. Lewis cleared his throat.  
"Ah, right," he said. "Let's get you and Yume out of here. I know a little railway that might take you in."

When Lewis brought Kudo and Yume back to the railway, the Little Controller looked amazed.  
"Very well done," he told Lewis proudly. "You really are a Useful Engine."  
"Thank you, Sir," said Lewis. He had to go back to see the superior officer, so as soon as he shunted Kudo and Yume into a siding, and hurried away as quickly as his wheels could carry him.  
The Little Controller then spoke privately to Kudo, who recognized him right away. "You're a Controller now?" Kudo said in amazement.  
"Yes, I am," the Little Controller said with a tender smile. "And once you come back from the works, I'd love to be your passenger once again."  
Kudo smiled for the first time in years.


	20. Book 5, Chapter 3

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 5: The Little Old Engine**

**

* * *

Smudger's Spill**

The following morning, a tank engine from the Mainland arrived to take Kudo and Yume to the Works. He was large and black, and had the number 12 painted on his side-tanks.  
As the engine pulled them to the works, Kudo tried to start a conversation. "It's certainly a lovely morning, isn't it?" the old engine said.  
But the tank engine didn't reply. It just smiled at Lewis and continued on his away.  
Kudo frowned. "Not much of a talker?" he asked. Again, the engine gave no reply.  
Kudo tried a few more times to talk, but the engine began to look annoyed, so he decided to give it a rest.

When they reached the works, Lewis was lowered onto the narrow gauge tracks. The engine's driver explained. "No. 12 here," he said, "can't really talk."  
Kudo stared at the engine, perplexed. 12 could only smile sheepishly.  
"We really should've told you earlier," the Driver said with a chuckle. "Now the workmen should be here soon to get you ready. Take care!"  
With that, 12 puffed away with his flat trucks.

Kudo was thoroughly examined from the tip of his funnel to the back of his buffers. The workers and foreman took plenty of notes, and they eventually pushed him into a siding.  
Next to him was another engine. He had no cab and his boiler was brand new. The engine introduced himself to Kudo.  
"My name's Smudger," he said. "I'm nearly finished with repairing me. All they want to do now is give me a few tests, and they'll give me my cab back."  
"How do you feel?" Kudo asked curiously.  
"Kind of weird," Smudger chuckled. "It feels like they're making me into a whole new engine!"

The two of them soon started talking about their old railways, and it wasn't long before they were laughing like old friends.  
Just then, some workmen arrived to run some tests. They lit Smudger's fire, and soon he was making plenty of steam. "I feel so good!" he wheeshed excitedly.  
He slowly puffed out of the siding, and went on for about a yard before they stopped him. Kudo suddenly noticed a puddle of water form under Smudger's rear wheels.  
"What on Earth?" Kudo muttered to himself. But before he could bring it up, Smudger had already puffed further away.

Smudger is a well tank engine, meaning his tank was stored under his body, between his frames. His tank, however, had not been repaired in a long time, and had sprung a small leak. Every time he put his brakes on, the pressure would push the hole a little bigger, and water would spill out.  
Smudger and the workmen, however, didn't realize this. They made him practice whistling and pulling several heavy trucks. Smudger found this a little fun, but never noticed the puddles beneath him.  
The workman driving him was concerned. "He's losing water much too quickly," he told the others. "I don't know what's wrong. And it can't be the boiler…"

They looked over his pistons and boiler carefully, but found nothing wrong. The workmen sighed together. "It's no good," they said. "We'll just have to take him to pieces and look him over."  
Smudger was alarmed. "Whoa, no thanks!" he snapped, "I was already taken apart once, and I'd rather not go through that again!"  
Kudo was concerned. From the siding, he wondered what he could do to help as he watched everybody argue bitterly.  
A workman was nearby, busy tying his shoe. Kudo called him over. "Go tell them," he said, "to check his tank and brakes. That might solve the problem."

When they finally examined his tank, they found the leak, and noticed the stains of water smudging the rails and floor. Everybody started to laugh.  
"Well!" the workmen exclaimed. "Now we know how you got your name!"  
Smudger was shocked. He had never been told how he got his name. He blushed as red as his buffer beam!  
"Now then, we'll have you fixed first thing tomorrow, and then we can get to work on Kudo."  
Smudger smiled over to his new friend. "Thanks," he said.  
"Don't mention it," the old engine chuckled. "What good's an engine when he's in pieces?"


	21. Book 5, Chapter 4

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 5: The Little Old Engine**

**

* * *

Feeling Purple**

The manager spoke kindly to Kudo the next day. "You're very lucky that your old railway took such good care of you," he said. "All you need is a few new parts and a fresh coat of paint, and you should be ready to run."  
"Thank you, Sir," said Kudo happily. "What color will I be?"  
"We'd paint you your old colors," the manager replied, "but we don't have any green paint left. We were thinking of painting you blue, like Smudger."  
Kudo frowned. He really didn't like the color blue; he was always fond of his earthy green coat.

Meanwhile, Smudger was ecstatic. They had repaired his tank and put his cab back on. They had painted him a royal blue with red stripes, red side rods, and a white running plate.  
"After what you've been through," the workmen said kindly, "we hope this new paint will cheer you up."  
"You bet it has!" said Smudger excitedly. "Thanks a lot!"  
Smudger never really liked his old color anyway! He was excited to go back to work, but they still needed to test him one more time to make sure he was ready to leave.

Kudo's coach, Yume, was on the same track as Smudger. She was being repainted too, into the railway's uniform coach color. She was now a dark purple, with her front and back painted yellow. They even managed to polish her bell. She felt very grand.  
The painter was being careless and had left his paint bucket on Yume's roof. He forgot about it when his lunch break came, and hurried off to eat. "It'll be fine," he reassured himself. "They're not going to move that coach anyway."

But he had reckoned without Smudger. He was in steam, and the manager wanted to insure that his brakes wouldn't damage his tank anymore.  
"Once this is finished," he explained to the little blue engine, "you'll be free to go back to your railway."  
Smudger was very excited. The workman pulled the leaver, and Smudger began to puff forwards.  
"Okay, that's enough," the manager called. "Brakes, please."

But then there was trouble. The workman couldn't get the brakes to come on, and Smudger kept going forward. "Help!" he cried. "Somebody stop me!"  
In front of him was Yume, who was very alarmed to see Smudger advancing toward her. "Wait!" she cried. "Stop!"  
But Smudger couldn't stop. He shut his eyes as he bumped hard into Yume, who slid down the track and bumped into the buffers. The bucket tumbled off her roof and the purple paint splashed all over Kudo.

The bump thankfully helped to bring Smudger to a stop, but the manager was upset. "You'll have to wait a little longer before you go," he sighed.  
Smudger, however, was more concerned about Kudo. "Are you okay?" he asked.  
"Yeah, I'm just fine," Kudo said, "but I'm quite a mess."  
Yume looked at Kudo's paint. "Well call me crazy," she chuckled, "but I do think purple looks quite nice on you!"  
Everyone was surprised, and Kudo was delighted. "I think," he told the workmen, "that I've found my new color."

Kudo was soon repainted to purple with white stripes. When the Little Controller came to see the engines' progress, he burst out in laughter when he saw Kudo.  
"A purple steam engine?" he laughed. "Now there's an interesting sight!"  
He thanked all of the workmen for their hard work, and then spoke to the engines.  
"There will be plenty of work for both of you," he said kindly, "once you get back. We've acquired a new mine and we've never been this busy before."  
The two engines were thrilled by this news, and promised to be as useful as they could be.


	22. Smudger and Hiro's Winter Adventure

**Smudger and Hiro's Winter Adventure**

**A Valley Railway Series Story**

* * *

Winter had arrived on Keikan Island. All of the engines big and small were working their hardest to get their passengers and goods through the icy wind and deep drifts of snow. All of the engines were very excited, as New Year's was nearly there. Every year at midnight, there would be a big celebration, and all of the engines would get to take part. Most importantly, one engine from each railway would be specially picked to pull their Controller to the celebration.  
But this year, the party would be extra special. A new station had been completed on the other side of the valley, resting at the bottom of the mountain. All three railways connected here, and the grand opening would be at midnight on New Year's Day. All of the engines were on their best behavior – nobody wanted to miss out on the festivities.  
On the evening before the party, the Little Controller came to see the engines. "Tomorrow," he said grandly, "Smudger will be taking me to the party. Kudo," he continued as he turned to the old engine, "are you sure you're okay with us using Yume?"  
Kudo had never been separated from his faithful coach before, but he wanted to help make sure everything was special. "No, of course not, Sir," he said with a smile.  
"Good then," the Little Controller said. "You and Edward Mann will be handling the main passenger duties for the evening. Candy will follow you with her own train, and Lewis will be on hand to assist you if necessary."  
Candy frowned. "Can't he just stay in his shed?" she pouted. "I REALLY don't like working with him."  
"Sorry, Candy," said the Little Controller. "As long as he's here, we're making him as useful as the rest of you. And no arguments," he finished sternly, and Candy quickly shut her mouth.  
Smudger was hissing with excitement. "I've never pulled a special before," he said with a grin.  
Edward Mann was concerned. "You should be careful out there," he said. "There's bound to be a blizzard tonight."  
"It'll be fine, don't worry about me," Smudger laughed bravely. "No snow is too much for me!"

Meanwhile at the Main Station, the Big Controller was making preparations with his own engines. Naomi was chosen to pull the Big Controller to the party. She felt very grand.  
"Please, Sir," Morning Light asked. "Will Takao be able to come to the party?"  
"Only by some miracle," the Big Controller sighed. "All of you will be busy, and I can't clear your schedules now, not unless it was a real emergency..."  
Just then, there was a whistle and a roar, and Hiro pulled into the station with his train. He was panting and puffing as he screeched to a stop. "Well flatten my funnel!" said Katsu in surprise. "Look who's nearly fifteen minutes late!"  
"I'm sorry," Hiro sighed as he caught his breath. "It's the Mainland's diesels, they…"  
"No excuses," said the Big Controller crossly. "If this kind of tardiness keeps up, you might miss the party tomorrow. Or worse, the Mainland might decide to send you away! And we wouldn't want that, would we?"  
Hiro frowned at the dreadful thought. "No, Sir," he said grimly. "Not at all."  
"Good then," the Big Controller said. "There's a lot of hard work to do first thing in the morning, so no dawdling – not from ANY of you," he finished promptly, looking over at all of the engines as he walked away to his car.  
The other engines felt sorry for Hiro. "Don't worry," Misaki said. "You'll be right on time and really reliable tomorrow. We'll make sure of that."  
"Besides," said Naomi, "Ryu and Twelve will be there to help you. Nothing can go wrong, right?"  
"I hope not," Hiro said with a weary smile. "Thank you all."

But that morning, the engines found that true to Edward Mann's word, a blizzard had swept the Island during the night. Engines from both the big and little railway were gathered at the Main Station, where the two Controllers explained the situation. "We'll have to stop our party preparations for now," said the Big Controller grimly, "and get the mountain villagers to shelter. Last night's blizzard was bad, but it'll be even worse tomorrow."  
"How about we bring them down and use the new station as a shelter?" suggested Katsu. "That way, they can celebrate and have a warm place for the night."  
"That wouldn't be a bad idea," said the Little Controller, "but that would mean sending engines up the Ice Line."  
The engines shuddered. The Ice Line was a winding line leading into the mountains, built on iron bridges. It was built to run through the mountains, rather than along the coastline, in order to avoid gunfire from foreign battleships. But the line was so frigid and risky that almost no engine used the line anymore.  
The Big Controller talked the situation over with the Drivers, and made a few phone calls. "Here's the plan," he finally announced. "We'll go up the mountain and collect the villagers, and bring them back down to the base. From there, the coaches will be arranged into separate trains, and from there brought to the new station. The Mainland has promised to help out, but we need to work quickly and efficiently if we want this done safely."  
"Yes, Sir!" the big engines whistled as the hurried off to work.  
"And as for you all," the Little Controller told his engines, "we'll continue our operations as usual, but Smudger, if you're needed to help out here, I want you to forget about the party and pitch in however you can. Do I make myself clear?"  
"Yes, Sir!" the little engines chorused.

It wasn't long before the rescue operation was underway. Naomi, Ryu, No. 12, and Misaki trekked across the iron bridges with their coaches, and gathered every passenger they could carry, and brought them down the mountain. The icy wind howled around their funnels as they worked. Ryu hissed fiercely as he stormed along the line. "This is lunacy!" he snorted as he pulled into the top station.  
Meanwhile, at the end of the line, Katsu arranged the coaches into long trains. From there, Morning Light and Hiro pulled them away to the new station. When they saw the other engines coming back from the mountain, they would whistle "Good luck!"  
Far off at the narrow gauge railway, the engines were fitted with snowplows and pulling trains of supplies and passengers to the new station. The valley line was cleared of snow, but the wind was picking up as the day grew longer, sometimes making bigger drifts of snow than before.  
Candy was miserable. As she wasn't strong enough to push through the snow on her own, Lewis the military engine had to travel in front with his plow, and pushed the snow aside with relative ease.  
"I thought you'd need my help," he chuckled. "Never send a toy train to do a real engine's job, I always say." This made Candy so red in the face she thought her boiler would burst!  
"Don't mind him," shivered her Driver, who was bundled up in warm jackets. "You're being a credit to the railway, and that's most important."  
As evening came, Smudger, with his snowplow fitted firmly on his bufferbeam, waited patiently at the platform with Yume. She looked remarkable in her traditional decorations.  
The Little Controller was talking on the phone. Smudger waited nervously. Finally, the Little Controller hung up. "We've got the okay," he said with a smile. "They've just brought down the last of the villagers, so the party's on. Let's get going!"  
Smudger was delighted. The Little Controller climbed into Yume and, when he was ready to go, he rang her bell long and loud. Smudger whistled in reply, and hurried away to the new station. But the journey was nowhere near as easy as they had hoped. The wind had begun to pick up. It howled as Smudger puffed through the valley.  
"It'll b-b-b-be ov-v-ver s-s-s-soon," he hissed through chattering teeth. But just up ahead was a large snowdrift, deeper than the rest. He charged bravely at it, but it was far too deep, and he simply couldn't push through.  
"C-come on…" he shivered as he backed up to try again. But as he pushed at it again with no success, he felt the ground rumble beneath his wheels. He looked up briefly, but before he knew what was going on, he was buried from funnel to footplate in snow.

Takao was lucky. As the work had lightened up, No. 12 was allowed to collect him from the museum and bring him to the new station. He was smiling until he saw Hiro, sad and alone at the end of the Ice Line, preparing to return back to the mainland. They stopped at a signal to talk to him.  
"You're not coming?" he wheezed.  
"No," said Hiro sadly. "They want me back at their own sheds tonight. I can't stand to be there with their diesels…"  
Takao frowned. "Don't feel down," he said kindly. "Be thankful that you at least won't be alone tonight." Just then the signal dropped, and No. 12 puffed away with Takao in tow.  
Hiro sighed. "But I'd rather be with my friends…" he said quietly as he looked up at the starry sky.  
Just then, a workman ran up to Hiro's cab and spoke urgently to his driver. "There's another emergency," he said grimly. "Smudger hasn't arrived with Mr. Nakamura. Please, go to the valley line and see what's wrong."  
Hiro's driver agreed, and they set off through the valley. As they headed along the line, Hiro looked down at the lower narrow gauge line, keeping an eye out for Smudger. The narrow gauge lines were covered in thick snow as far as the eye could see.  
Quite suddenly, they heard an unfamiliar sound echoing from below. "Hello?" shouted Hiro. "Is somebody there?"  
That was when his driver noticed a bell sticking out of a snowdrift, ringing loudly and frantically. "Oh! There they are!" he laughed. "Come on, Hiro, let's get them out of there before they freeze!"  
They brought workmen and some cranes, and Smudger and Yume were soon dug free of the snow. Then, using the strong cranes, they were each lifted carefully onto the waiting flatbeds. Hiro tried not to laugh when he saw Smudger's face, which was bluer than his paint.  
"I heard you could handle snow, Smudger!" he said with a smile.  
"Y-your s-snow….it f-f-fell onto m-my line…" shivered Smudger.  
"You'll be just fine," Hiro said. "Come on; let's get to the station before we get frozen out here!"

At the new station, all of the mountain villagers were enjoying hot drinks and chattering amongst themselves. The whole station was covered in traditional decorations. Daruma dolls were being given out and paper lanterns danced from the ceiling. Everything felt right to ring in the New Year. All of the engines, however, were worried.  
"Where's Smudger?" said Kudo. "He should've been here by now."  
"I warned him about the valley," said Edward Mann grimly. "He's probably buried somewhere, wheel deep in snow…"  
"He shouldn't have been given the job in the first place," Lewis said boldly. "Such a scruffy young private could never—"  
"Oh stick it down your funnel, why don't you?" snapped Candy crossly.  
Lewis was so shocked that he immediately kept to himself!  
Ryu and No. 12 were waiting with the other engines. Naomi, who had brought the Big Controller safely, was surprised to see them. "Shouldn't you be heading back with Hiro?" she said.  
"Yeah," said Ryu, "but it's no fun over there. I'd rather be here with nicer engines, you now?"  
No. 12 smiled and tooted in agreement.  
"We'll probably get in trouble," Ryu went on, "but it's worth it for this party. Look at this place!"  
Just then, they heard a familiar whistle. The Stationmaster shouted and everybody cheered as Hiro pulled in, with Smudger and Yume behind on their flatbeds. The little tank engine smiled meekly at his friends.  
"Hey, you're alive!" laughed Candy.  
"How are you feeling?" said Edward Mann kindly.  
Smudger shuddered as the station's warmth spread over his cold boiler. "My fire's out, I'm covered in snow...but to be honest, I've never felt better!" he laughed.  
The Little Controller stepped out of Yume and shook the Big Controller's hand. Using the dual gauge lines, they lowered Smudger and Yume back onto the rails, and they were brought over to the narrow gauge side of the station. As Smudger told his friends all about what happened, they noticed the Big Controller, Little Controller, and Representative step up to a stand to present a speech.  
"Hey, I know him!" Smudger yelped, but he was severely hushed!  
The Representative spoke on behalf of the Controllers. He thanked the Drivers, Fireman, and workmen who struggled all day to bring the villagers to the station. He then thanked the Mainland engines for their determination to help out. "Without these three," he told the crowd, "nothing tonight would have been possible." Cheers followed this.  
Then he cleared his throat. "Everybody, I'm very proud to say my family's been a part of this for so long. For almost one hundred years, the Upper Valley Railway has worked to make life better for everybody on our beautiful island, and no matter what happens in the world, our railways will strive to serve you good people and prove that every engine, big and small, can be Really Useful."  
Thunderous applause greeted these words. The engines whistled in delight. Smudger and Hiro smiled broadly at each other. As the cold wind blew outside, the villagers rang in the New Year with joy. But none of them were as happy as Smudger, Hiro, and all of the engines of Keikan Island.

**~ Happy New Year ~**


	23. Book 6, Chapter 1

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 6: Hiro the Wise Engine**

* * *

Dear Friends,

_I'm sorry to say that not everything in life lasts as long as we'd like. The Mainland has been putting their money toward modernization, and decided to close their special line and put the Upper Valley Railway in charge of the work instead. This also involved selling their prized steam locomotives._

_Two of these engines were rescued, but one was too expensive. Luckily, he's found another home far away on another island. We all wish him the very best, and hope to see him again someday._

_The Author_

* * *

**A Day in his Wheels**

Spring had arrived on the Island, and many visitors from all over the world were coming. Every engine was busy carrying sightseers up and down the line, and through the serene valley. Many visitors were coming from the Mainland, and Hiro and Ryu were busy pulling long passenger trains day and night.  
One evening, Hiro was waiting at the Valley Station for Ryu, who was late with his train. Ryu finally pulled in, looking very frustrated. "Too many people!" he snorted. "Aren't the blossoms from their own island pretty enough?"  
Hiro looked at Ryu's train, which had much less coaches than his own. "Is that what you consider too much?" he said with a frown.  
"Oh," Ryu retorted, "and the 'Master of the Railway's trains are such a challenge? You're always early with your trains! I doubt they could be that hard."  
Hiro had an idea to make the younger engine see sense. "Tell you what then," he said calmly. "Let's switch our duties for one day. You take my train, and I take yours."

Their Drivers and Firemen talked it over, and agreed to put the plan into action first thing in the morning. The two engines then hurried away with their coaches.  
Every morning, Hiro collects a goods train from the Mainland and pulls it to the yard far south of the Island. The train requires lots of care, so it wasn't allowed to cross through the valley. When Ryu watched the diesels shunt the heavy trucks into the siding, he began to panic.  
"Are you sure I can't use the valley?" he asked the nearby shunting diesel. "It'll make the trip much faster."  
"Nope, safety regulations," the diesel snorted. "If Hiro can do it on time, you can too. Quit complaining and get out of here, steamer."  
Ryu scowled. "And people call ME rude!" he grunted as he coupled up.

It wasn't long before Ryu was puffing along with the train. He wanted to go faster, but the heavy trucks held him back. Ryu felt himself begin to strain, his face growing a deep shade of red.  
His Driver eased the regulator. "Steady, boy," he said. "Don't stress yourself out."  
"But if I don't go faster," Ryu complained, "I'll be late, and the Controller will be cross."  
"He'd rather you be late instead of a steaming wreck," his Driver pointed out. "Now come on."  
Ryu hissed between his teeth. He wanted to say more, but he didn't have any spare steam.

When Ryu arrived at the yard, he shunted the train away, and went to the water tower as fast as his tired wheels could carry him. He was just beginning to drink when Hiro thundered past with Ryu's coaches. Hiro beamed and whistled at Ryu as he hurried along.  
Ryu could hear the coaches singing. "On time for once! On time for once!" they chattered as they raced by. Ryu blushed crossly as he watched them turn a bend and disappear.  
"What's he have that I don't?" he grumbled to himself.  
After he finished his long drink, he puffed to the Main Station, where Hiro's coaches were waiting.

Meanwhile, Hiro arrived at the station by the slate mine, where Edward Mann had just arrived with his train. He was very surprised to see the big engine waiting for him. "Hiro!" he laughed. "What are you doing here?"  
As they exchanged passengers, Hiro told Edward Mann about Ryu. "I hope he sees sense after this," Hiro sighed. "I don't want him to get into too much trouble."  
"Don't worry about a thing," Edward Mann said with a smile. "I'm sure he'll get better in no time. Why, I remember when I was young and I—"  
Just then, the Guard's whistle blew. "Ah, I need to get going," Hiro said. "Take care!" And he whistled loudly as he pulled out of sight.

Hiro arrived at the Valley Station with plenty of time to spare. The people got out, and as Hiro waited calmly for Ryu to arrive, he shunted his own empty coaches away.  
The time passed. Hiro waited and waited, but there was still no sign of Ryu. Hiro began to worry. "Maybe it was too much for him, and he broke down," he thought to himself.  
Just then, there was a woeful whistle, and Ryu crept into the station, red in the face as the heavy train trailed behind him. He braked thankfully, and the passengers swarmed out crossly. They complained at Ryu before talking to the Stationmaster, who promised to put everything right.  
"Well!" chuckled Hiro as he eyed the exhausted Ryu. "Was that a bit too much for you?"  
Ryu glared at him, but he was too tired to say a single word.

Ryu was too strained and tired to move another wheel, so Hiro coupled up to him and pulled him back home. As the moon came out, the two engines spoke.  
"I'm sorry about…you know…what I said," Ryu said meekly. "You really do have it harder than me."  
"Don't worry about it at all," Hiro smiled. "You put your best effort into your work today, and for that, I'm proud."  
"Yeah, but my best wasn't good enough," grumbled Ryu. "What's your secret, Hiro? How do you manage all that work?"  
Hiro laughed. "There's nothing secretive about determination," he said.  
"What, did you read that fortune at a shrine or something?" Ryu snickered.  
"Well there was this time when I went to Kyoto…" Hiro began, and the two chattered happily all the way home.


	24. Book 6, Chapter 2

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 6: Hiro the Wise Engine

* * *

**

**The Wind and the Runaway**

No. 12 is a tank engine who shunted goods and passenger trains for the Mainland's engines. He lived at the terminus just before the bridge that leads to the Mainland. He's a diligent worker, but tends to get flustered when things go wrong.  
He was especially frustrated with trucks; they treat him terribly because they know he can't shout at them. They would laugh and sing loudly, and hold back when he tried to shunt them.  
One evening, Hiro was on the turntable when he saw No. 12 bashing the trucks furiously. He sighed and puffed over to him. "Don't let them get to you," he said. "The more you bump them, the more they'll pick on you."  
No. 12 didn't answer. He just wheeshed miserably and pushed the remaining trucks into the siding.

The following morning was very windy, and No. 12 shunted a long line of heavy coal trucks. Ryu was supposed to collect them and bring them up the Ice Line later that day. But as the engine rested in his siding, there was trouble. The Stationmaster from the nearby station had just gotten a call that Ryu had derailed, and No. 12 had to take the train.  
His Driver agreed. "We'll give it our best," he said bravely, and No. 12 reversed onto the train.  
No. 12 frowned, his cylinders hissing crossly. "Don't be like that," snapped his Driver. "You can handle this train just fine."

No. 12 made good time, but just before the Ice Line was a tall hill. There were no trees here, so the wind battered him. As he climbed, the wind picked up, and the trucks began to sing. "He thinks he can pull us all, we'll break our chain and down we'll fall!" they chanted.  
Struggling, No. 12 pulled harder on the trucks. As the wind grew stronger, the trucks' chanting grew louder. "You can do it!" encouraged his Driver. "Don't let them beat you!"  
But just as they reached the top, there was a terrible snapping sound. The driver and fireman looked back to see the trucks rolling backwards down the hill, picking up speed as the wind pushed them along.

No. 12 puffed ahead to the nearest signalbox, and the Driver told the signalman what had happened. It wasn't long before everywhere down the line, all the points were changed to let the runaway pass, and all trains were stopped.  
Hiro was taking on water in a siding when he saw the trucks thunder past him. He was horrified. "If they keep going," he said, "there'll be an accident!"  
He hurried to the nearest station, and his Driver spoke with the Stationmaster. Hiro had a plan: using the valley line, they could overtake the trucks and stop them before they crashed.  
After an agreement and telephone to the signalman, a workman came and climbed into the tender, and Hiro boldly puffed towards the valley.

"How fast can I go?" Hiro asked his driver as they picked up speed.  
His driver grinned. "As fast as you'd like, old boy," he replied.  
"Perfect," Hiro said. He went faster and faster, his wheels pounding the rails beneath him. The little engines on the line below watched in amazement as Hiro rocketed by.  
Hiro whistled loudly as he passed the signalbox at the end of the valley line. Behind him, he could see the runaway trucks, clattering behind him. Having the trucks now right where he wanted them, Hiro began to slow down.

Gradually the trucks caught up with him, and with a loud clang, their buffers hit Hiro's. "Got them!" shouted his Driver. Gently, he eased on the brakes, and when the speed was reduced enough, the workman climbed down and coupled Hiro to the train.  
It wasn't long before the runaway train was under control and, tired but triumphant, Hiro came to a stop at the Lower Coast Station.  
As he puffed back to find No. 12, he passed through the Main Station. To his amazement, a crowd of people had gathered on the platform, and they were cheering for him. There were even people taking his photograph.  
The Big Controller came out and thanked Hiro's crew, and then spoke specially to the big engine. "Well done, Hiro," he said with a warm smile. "Your quick action prevented what could have been a horrible accident. I'll have to write to your controller immediately about this."  
Hiro beamed from buffer to buffer. "Thank you, sir," he said happily.

Hiro delivered No. 12's trucks safely, and that night, he told the other engines what had happened. Ryu was amazed by the story. But No. 12, embarrassed, hardly paid attention. Hiro spoke kindly to him.  
"What happened to you could've happened to any engine," he said. "It most certainly wasn't your fault." No. 12 just gave Hiro a sorrowful look before glancing away.  
"Besides," Hiro said, "if you hadn't warned the signalman, those trucks could have hit another engine. That was very brave of you." No. 12 smiled slightly.  
"Not to mention," Hiro whispered, "even after that, I bet you can handle trucks better than Ryu…"  
"Hey now, what?" snapped Ryu crossly, but not even he could stay upset when he saw No. 12 burst into a fit of laughter.


	25. Book 6, Chapter 3

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 6: Hiro the Wise Engine**

* * *

**Something Must Be Done**

Things began to change for the three Mainland engines. Every day, they saw more and more diesels crawling around the yard, and the engines had less work to do. They began to worry.  
"It won't be long now," Ryu growled under his breath. "Our Controller will come any day now, and say 'Okay you lot, we're going to scrap you now, thanks for everything'."  
"Don't be ridiculous," Hiro said defiantly. "We've been working for this line for far too long to be scrapped now."  
"Really?" Ryu said. "Well then, why have we already been replaced in such a short period of time? If we're so important and vital for the line, why aren't we doing any work?"  
"Well…" Hiro began, but as the black diesels rumbled by, he couldn't think of anything to say.

Ryu was right. A few days later, their Controller arrived. He avoided making eye contact with the engines; his face was nearly buried into his clipboard.  
"So," he said, "as part of our new modernization plan, we're going to have to sell you three off."  
The engines stared in dismay and disbelief.  
"You two," their Controller went on, pointing at Ryu and No. 12, "already have a buyer lined up, but as for you…" he continued, his pen pointing towards Hiro, "we still need to find somebody. If nobody offers, we may have to sell you for scrap."  
Hiro, for the first time in ages, looked scared. Their Controller didn't even offer a single word of encouragement or hope. He just walked away.

Ryu and No. 12 were ordered to go to the Island to the big sheds, and to bring Hiro with them, for the time being. After Hiro settled in, the other two engines hurried away to the Main Station to find the Big Controller.  
It wasn't long before all of the engines on the Island knew of Hiro's plight. Smudger was talking to Edward Mann about it one morning. "It's a crime shame," he said. "Isn't there anything we can do?"  
Edward Mann thought for a moment. "There's a special visitor coming tomorrow," he said, "and I've heard him grumbling about needing an engine. He might be the Controller of another railway."  
Smudger was interested. "So what should we do?" he asked.

"Well," Edward Mann said with a grin, "remember how we rescued Morning Light?"  
Smudger realized what he meant, and beamed. He spoke to his Driver about the idea, who talked to the signalmen and workmen. They all agreed that something must be done for Hiro, and began to make their plan.  
The following morning, Smudger arrived at the station to collect his Special. Yume was there, aware of the plan, but keeping very quiet. She winked at Smudger as they coupled up.  
On the platform were the Little and Big Controllers. With them was a stout gentleman, along with his wife and a translator.

Smudger was supposed to be taking them through the valley for a special scenic tour. They came to the junction where the valley line meets the dual gauge lines. These are special lines that both stand and narrow gauge engines can use, and this line was built between the harbor and the Big Sheds. Smudger came to a stop.  
Surprised by the sudden stop, the Little Controller peaked out of Yume. "What's the holdup?" he asked.  
"Just sanding the rails," Smudger's driver lied. When the Little Controller wasn't watching, the Driver changed the points, and Smudger puffed onto the line leading to the Big Sheds. The two Controllers were so busy talking to their special guest that they never noticed that they were going the wrong way.

Smudger stopped in a siding just outside the sheds. The group got out of Yume. They were very surprised to see where they were.  
"What on Earth?" exclaimed the Big Controller. "What are we doing here?"  
But the stout gentleman was looking at the sheds. There, slowly puffing out of the shed and whistling grandly, was one of the most amazing engines he had ever seen. Hiro smiled at the stout man, who couldn't take his eyes off the extraordinary engine.  
"What an amazing machine!" the stout gentleman said. "An engine like this one would be perfect for my railway!"

All at once, the two Controllers realized what Smudger had done, and grinned. "Well," the Big Controller said as the translator spoke his words in English, "you should talk to his Controller. He says if he doesn't find this engine a buyer soon, he may be sold for scrap."  
"Scrap?" the stout gentleman said with surprise. "Oh gracious no, that would never do! Take me to him immediately!"  
As they hurried off to find Naomi, Hiro beamed at Smudger. "Thank you," he said gratefully. "You're truly one of the best friends I could ever have."  
Smudger felt so proud that his boiler might burst!


	26. Book 6, Chapter 4

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 6: Hiro the Wise Engine**

* * *

**Farewell, Hiro!**

Preparations took some time, but at long last, Hiro's Controller agreed to sell him. All of the engines were overjoyed when they heard the news.  
The Big Controller explained everything. "And on Saturday," he said, "Hiro will arrive at the harbor, and the ship will take him to his new railway."  
The engines suddenly weren't as happy. "A ship?" asked Misaki. "As in, Hiro's going away?"  
"Yes, very far away," the Big Controller said.  
Suddenly, none of the engines felt as happy anymore. The Big Controller was upset too, but tried very hard to hide it.

After the Big Controller left, all the engines talked to Hiro. "Don't worry," Morning Light said. "On Friday, we're going to give you a big send-off party."  
"Yes indeed," Naomi said. "It'll be like our New Year's party, but better!"  
"And there'll be a special train too," Katsu put in. "You'll be hauling one of the grandest trains on the whole Island!"  
"It'll be great," put in Ryu as No. 12 whistled in agreement. "I mean, it's the only way to say goodbye to the Master of the Railway, right?"  
Surrounded by his friends who all wanted to make him happy, Hiro could hardly stay upset. That night, everybody talked about the big celebration.

Word got around, and by the time Friday came around, the Main Station was packed with railway enthusiasts from all over the Island and Mainland. They all wanted a last trip behind the Master of the Railway before he left. Hiro couldn't believe how many people were photographing him; he didn't know which way to look!  
As he pulled away with his grand train, there were even more enthusiasts all through the valley. They smiled and waved at him, and took as many pictures as they could. Hiro whistled loudly as he passed his friends, and they would smile and whistle back.

That evening, Hiro arrived at the Valley Station, where all of the Big Controller's engines were waiting for him. They cheered as he pulled in with his train, and the real party began. Hiro was amazed at how beautifully the station was decorated. There was even a wonderful new painting of Hiro hanging on the wall.  
Everybody had an enjoyable evening, but soon, it was time for Hiro to go to the harbor. All of the engines were sorry to see him leave. They all whistled goodbye as Hiro thundered away. He even got to stop at the museum and say goodbye to Takao.  
But out on that cool night, Hiro began to feel his happiness leave him. He watched longingly as he passed his favorite stations and lines. "How could I ever leave…?" he whispered to himself.

At the harbor, Hiro parked close to the ship, which would be loading him on board first thing in the morning. The salty sea air whistled quietly around him. Hiro had never felt so alone in his entire life.  
Just then, he heard a little engine nearby. He glanced down and saw Smudger puffing alongside, some workmen's trucks trailing behind him. "Smudger?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"  
"Oh," Smudger said, "I'm just working here for the night. They need everything to be ready for tomorrow."  
"Ah." Hiro sighed. "I'm going to miss this Island," he said sadly. "There are so many memories. I remember my first day, in fact…"  
Interested, Smudger shunted the trucks into a siding, and stayed next to Hiro to listen to his story.

Hiro and Smudger talked all through the night and into the morning, sharing their adventures from the Island and talking about their friends. As the sun came out over the sea, more engines began to appear, all wanting to hear Hiro's famous stories. Before long, all of Hiro and Smudger's friends had arrived, and it was nearly time for the ship to leave.  
Guests and enthusiasts all gathered around the dock, and the two Controllers soon arrived with the Representative. When the stout gentleman arrived with his wife, they shook the Controllers' hands and waved to the crowd before boarding the ship.  
The Representative gave a long, beautiful speech and gave the famous engine his blessing, and Hiro was pushed into the siding by Katsu, ready to be loaded.

Just before Hiro was loaded away, Smudger came up to talk one last time. "Hiro," he said, "I just wanted to say…what you told me when you first met…you were right. And…thank you, Hiro, for being one of the best friends I could ever have."  
Hiro smiled gently. "Of course," he said.  
"And…" Smudger forced back tears. "No matter what happens wherever you go, just always remember you'll always have a home here."  
Hiro's eyes moistened. "Thank you, Smudger. And thank you, all of you…"  
Hiro was soon on the ship, getting one last look at his friends. They call cheered and whistled goodbye to their friend, the Master of the Railway, as the ship pulled away from the harbor into the sparkling blue sea.


	27. Book 7, Chapter 1

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 7: Adventurous Little Engines**

* * *

_Dear Friends,_

_The Lower Valley Railway's recently acquired two new engines. One of these is Joel, a little diesel who was broken beyond repair when we got him. After a terrible accident in the mine, Joel's been completely rebuilt and has become a much more reliable engine._

_The other engine is Lewis. The military tank engine heard I was writing another book, and begged me not to put stories of him in. "It'll damage my reputation!" he told me. But his stories were too good to pass up!_

_The Author_

_

* * *

_

**Maniac Mine**

Joel is a little brown diesel who works at the new coal mine near the valley. Every day, he goes deep into the mines and pulls out heavy hopper trucks filled with coal, and then shunts them on top of the chutes. There, the trucks are used to fill the Big Railway's trucks waiting below, and they're then taken all over the Island.  
Joel is very proud of his work, but his original owner had never taken good care of him. His engine often spluttered; he wasn't as strong as he used to be, and he couldn't go very fast anymore.  
Lewis, the military tank engine, would often stop by on his way back to the Base. He would often criticize the small diesel. "If you can't make the effort to work," he would say, "you might as well not work at all!"  
Joel was tired of Lewis, and always wondered how to pay him out.

One day, the Little Controller came with an Inspector. They were going to make sure that all of the mine operations were going smoothly, and take notes on needed improvements. Joel let them ride in a coal truck, and took them into the mine.  
They went deep into the tunnels and took notes. After they went back outside, the two men examined Joel all over, from his wheels to his cab. They sighed and shook their heads. Joel was beginning to worry.  
At long last, they spoke to the mine's Manager. "Your operations are good," the Little Controller said, "but your engine is in terrible condition. We'd like to buy him, and give him a completely new shape."  
Joel beamed from buffer to buffer. "Thank you, Sirs!" he tooted. "Thank you!"

In the meantime, another engine would be coming to replace him. Joel was disappointed to see that they had loaned Lewis. Joel had to show Lewis around, and teach him how to do things.  
"It's very dusty and dirty in there," Joel was telling him. "And I'm sure you've never been down there before. You might need help."  
"See here, private," barked the big tank engine. "I don't need an old scrapheap like you telling me how to do things. I can handle it on my own!"  
Joel was deeply offended. "How dare you!" he spluttered as he rolled away.

But Lewis was right. The work came easily for him, and quite soon, the mine was bustling with activity once again. Joel was red in the face as he watched Lewis shunt the heavy hoppers onto the chutes with ease.  
"I'm better than him. I KNOW I am!" he said crossly to himself. "And I'll prove it too!"  
While Lewis had puffed away to take on water, Joel bustled down into the mine and collected a long line of hopper trucks. His Driver was concerned. "Are you sure you can handle this?" he asked.  
"Of course!" Joel said indignantly, but he was wrong. They were far too heavy for him, so several trucks had to be uncoupled before he could finally pull away. Joel was more embarrassed than ever.  
The trucks were cross too. They had left their friends behind, and Joel was bashing and bumping them. "Pay him out! Pay him out!" they hissed to each other.

Near the chutes, there is a tall hill, with a small junction just before the slope. Engines pulling hoppers behind them must remember to shunt the trucks into the siding first, and then push them slowly down the other side. This way, the engine isn't trapped between the buffers and the trucks on top of the chute, and can safely leave to collect more trucks.  
Joel had done this many times, and should have remembered this. But he was still thinking of beating Lewis, and rattled right past the siding. "Wait, Joel! Wait!" shouted his Driver, and he reached for the brakes.  
But it was already too late. All at once, Joel realized where he was, and the trucks saw their chance. "Trash him! Bash him!" they shouted, and with a clatter and a roar, they pushed Joel down the slope.

They rushed down as they reached the bottom, going faster and faster. "On! On!" laughed the trucks.  
"I've got to stop!" cried Joel. His Driver tried desperately to apply the brakes, but it was no use. He jumped clear and watched in horror as Joel and his train raced onto the chute.  
Underneath, Misaki had a full train of coal trucks, and was preparing to leave. Just then, she heard Joel screeching above her. "What in the…?" she started to say, but she never finished.  
There was a smash – Joel crashed through the buffers and tumbled down. With a crunch, he landed right into one of Misaki's trucks. His engine was wrecked, and he was covered all over in black coal dust.  
Misaki was horrified, but the trucks where hooting with laughter.

It wasn't long before the Little Controller arrived. "Don't worry about it," he told Joel. "You were about to be rebuilt anyway!" Joel could only cough up black dust in reply.  
"Now Misaki," the Little Controller went on," could you bring him to the Works?"  
"Of course, Sir," Misaki said. "I've got plenty of time."  
From above, Joel could hear Lewis whistling at him. "Don't you worry, little Joel!" he said. "I'll take good care of things while you're away!"  
Joel felt a sinking feeling of shame go through him. He groaned miserably as Misaki pulled him away.


	28. Book 7, Chapter 2

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 7: Adventurous Little Engines**

**

* * *

**

**Lewis and the Ghost**

Lewis worked hard in the mine, and the workmen were proud of him. Lewis's only complaint was Joel's shed. It was rotting away and filled with holes. "A proud and powerful engine like me shouldn't be sleeping in a shack like this!" he would snort.  
So sometimes, when he finished work early, he would puff away to the main narrow gauge sheds. The other engines didn't mind, as long as he kept quiet.  
One of these nights, Edward Mann was going to tell a story. "He tells the best stories," commented Smudger to Lewis.  
"Arh," grunted Lewis. "It'd better be good, or I'll just tell my own. Why, at the base, we—"  
"Shhh!" Candy hissed crossly, and then Edward Mann began.

"Once, just off the coast, there was a special engine built with underwater rails, and long legs so he can go through the water. Everybody thought he looked very weird, and they all called him, 'The Spider Tram'.  
"The tram hated the cold water, so he would always try to spoil it for his passengers. He would slow down and even stall in deep water, and would sometimes rattle and shake. His Driver knew something was up, and told him to behave himself.  
"But the Spider Tram never learned sense. He would look out at the main line and ask himself, 'Why can't I run on normal rails, like any other engine?'

"One night, there was a terrible storm, the worst the island has ever seen. The winds were strong, and they damaged the shore station.  
"The tram was chained to the platform, and was sure he'd be fine. Suddenly, the chain snapped, and he started to roll down right towards the sea! The winds were too strong, and he fell over into the murky water.  
"He wasn't badly hurt, but the repairs for him and the station were so expensive that they had no money left to run the railway, and he was soon scrapped."  
The little engines gulped. "Nowadays," Edward Mann finished, "the fishermen will tell you than when the moon is full, you can see his ghost, slowly crawling along the water…"

Lewis broke the silence that followed. "That was the worst story ever!" he said crossly.  
The other engines didn't agree. Candy was shaken. "I'm going down the coast tonight," she shivered. "I hope I don't see it…"  
Just as she trundled away, Lewis's driver came up to him. "Come along, Lewis," he said. "You're still in steam, so the Little Controller wants you to help out."  
Lewis did not make the trip pleasant for Candy. He would let her puff ahead for a little while, and then rush alongside her, whistling loudly. "BOO!" he shouted. "Don't be frightened, young lady!"  
Candy gritted her teeth; with Lewis, she was more furious than scared.

The moon was slowly rising along the coast. As Lewis stopped to take on coal, Candy hurried ahead and arrived at the lighthouse construction site. As she shunted the trucks into their siding, she saw something massive, with four long legs, looming against the night sky.  
She squealed in shock, but her Driver laughed and reassured her. "Don't worry!" he said. "That's just the support beams for the new lighthouse! It's made of metal instead of stone, see?"  
Candy was relieved. Just before leaving, she thought of something. "Can we play a trick on Lewis?" she asked her Driver.  
They told the workmen about Lewis, and they agreed to help out. They were about to go home, but playing a quick joke seemed like much more fun!

Candy hid in a siding as Lewis rattled past, his trucks in front of him now. Without Candy, he looked a little spooked. "Hello?" he called out. "Anybody there?"  
There was no response. Lewis quietly shunted the trucks into a siding. He suddenly saw steam rising next to him. He turned his gaze and saw something massive and tall, surrounded by steam. Suddenly, there was a flash of light around it, and through the smoke, he could see four tall legs reaching out from the ocean.  
Lewis's eyes widened. "I am NOT seeing this." he gulped.  
"WHOO!" Candy howled behind him. "I'm coming to get you, Lewis!"  
Lewis yelped and started to reverse. "GHOST! GHOST!" he screeched as he sped down the curve and out of sight.

Candy and her driver thanked the workmen, and then headed home. Lewis wasn't at the shed, so Candy told all of the other engines what just happened.  
The next morning, she puffed to the coal mine to collect some trucks. Lewis was there. He looked like he hadn't slept all night, and jolted when she whistled cheerfully at him.  
"Hey Lewis!" she tooted. "Where'd you go last night?"  
"Ah, uh," Lewis muttered. "I didn't want to delay work here, so I, erm, slept here. Poor you, probably out and scared by that, uh, silly story."  
"Silly indeed!" Candy said with a chuckle. "It's too bad you didn't come back. We missed your company!" And with a triumphant laugh, Candy hurried away with her train.


	29. Book 7, Chapter 3

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 7: Adventurous Little Engines**

* * *

**Little Rescue**

Lewis soon found out about Candy's joke, and this put him in a terrible mood. Kudo, who Lewis had rescued, couldn't help but feel sorry for him.  
"Why should I work where I get no respect?" Lewis told him crossly one day. "It's so frustrating – I don't see a point to it anymore!"  
"Respect is earned, not given," Kudo replied. "Perhaps if you stopped demeaning the other engines, they'll come to look up to you."  
"I don't demean others!" Lewis snapped. "I just show that I'm superior to them."  
Kudo rolled his eyes and puffed away with his trucks.

The following morning, Lewis was woken up early. "They need you back at the Base right away," his Driver told him. "They're cleaning up for an inspection this evening."  
"What about the mine?" Lewis asked, opening a sleepy eye. "Who's going to look after it while I'm away?"  
"The Little Controller's sending another engine to handle it," his Driver said. "You don't have to worry about a thing."  
"Maybe I should show him around," Lewis said, "and make sure he…wait, what am I saying? Who cares about this old mine? Let's get out of here!"  
Lewis hurried away to the Base. But all the way there, he couldn't help but think of the mine. He couldn't understand what was happening to him.

At the base, everybody was busy organizing and cleaning up. Several trucks were already loaded with wastes, so Lewis quickly started shunting them away.  
He spent all morning moving waste away and bringing supplies, and by noon, he was exhausted. As he rested in a siding, the truck Daichi growled alongside.  
"Did you notice how much less track there is?" he said slyly. "They're pulling up your rails, rustbucket! After today, they'll have no more use for you, and you'll be sent away for scrap."  
Lewis was flabbergasted. "Rubbish!" he snorted crossly.  
"Ah, but it's true!" Daichi went on. "And don't worry, once you're gone, I'll take great care of this place!" He sped off back to work.

It was only an hour until the inspection, and Lewis was at wit's end with Daichi. All day, the truck had been teasing and taunting him, and Lewis was looking forward to finishing work.  
Just then, a workman from the mine arrived, and spoke to Lewis's Driver. "There's a problem at the mine," the Driver told Lewis. "Smudger is stuck in one of the tunnels. Do you think you can rescue him?"  
Daichi rolled alongside. "What, are you abandoning us?" Daichi growled. "Nothing short of what I'd expect from you, rustbucket."  
Lewis had enough. "Stick it up your tailpipe! I'm out of here!" And with that, he hurried away to the mine, leaving Daichi at a loss for words.

At the mine, they were pleased to see Lewis back. "Please, hurry and help him!" they told him. Lewis bravely plunged into the mine.  
They found Smudger deep in one of the narrower of the tunnels. His funnel had hit a support beam above him, and he was too terrified to move, thinking the tunnel would collapse if he did.  
Lewis stared at him. "How'd you get down there?" he shouted crossly.  
"Some trucks rolled down the tunnel," Smudger said, "and I thought I could get them…"  
Lewis sighed. "Let's get you out of here before something else goes wrong," he grunted.

Slowly, Lewis advanced toward Smudger, and his Driver coupled them up. Above them, the mine rumbled. Smudger looked even more nervous now.  
"Careful…" Lewis said cautiously. He slowly began to advance backwards, gently pulling Smudger forward. Smudger could feel the tunnel beginning to cave in on top of him. He shut his eyes, bracing himself.  
Lewis scowled. "Ready?" he shouted. "One…two…" Before he could even say "three", he yanked Smudger backwards as hard and as fast as his wheels could pull. Smudger was pulled forward just as the tunnel collapsed behind him. Where there were once rails was now a massive pile of coal and dirt.  
Lewis and Smudger hurried out of the mine and into the sunlight.

Thankfully the ruined tunnel didn't cause much damage and the structure of the mine wasn't compromised, but they closed off the tunnel for safety precautions. Smudger and Lewis were looked over to make sure they weren't hurt.  
Smudger was shaken but very relieved. "Thank you, Lewis," he said with a weary smile. "I can't imagine how you did it."  
"It was nothing," Lewis said. He was about to head back to the Base, but thinking of Daichi waiting there for him, he changed his mind.  
"I…think I'll stay here for a bit," he said. "You know, show you how to do the work, and all. Can't have accidents like that again, can we?"  
And with that, the two engines hurried away to find some trucks.


	30. Book 7, Chapter 4

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 7: Adventurous Little Engines

* * *

**

**Joel's Daring Deed**

Joel's rebuild was finally complete. He was now bigger and stronger, given two extra wheels in front, and was repainted a rich blue. "We use the color blue to reflect change and progression," the Little Controller said kindly. "We hope you like it."  
"Are you kidding? I love it!" Joel said, beaming from buffer to buffer. "I feel better than I've had in years!"  
Just then, No. 12 arrived with a flatbed to take Joel away. "Remember," the Little Controller said, "since you're a much more reliable engine now, don't be afraid to help out wherever you're needed."  
"Yes, Sir," Joel said, and he cheerfully waited to be loaded onto the truck.

Joel stayed at the main sheds that night. The other little engines didn't look as pleased as he did. "It'll be like what happened to Hiro," Candy muttered darkly. "First they bring in one diesel, then another, and then we're all lined up ready for scrap."  
Joel was mortified. "I'd never do anything like that!" he said, but Candy wouldn't listen. Smudger didn't want to agree with her, but Joel could see that he was worried too.  
"What's worse," Edward Mann said, "they might be scrapping Lewis soon. The military wasn't happy that he ran off like that."  
Candy and Joel were indifferent, but the other engines looked worried. "He saved me," Kudo said sadly. "We should at least save him in return."

Joel had an idea to gain the other engines' trust. As the other engines went to sleep, he spoke quietly to his driver. "Let's at least bring Lewis here, so they can't scrap him before the Little Controller hears about him," he whispered.  
His Driver thought it over, and in the morning, he returned to find Joel wide awake.  
"We'll do it," he said, "But we've got to be careful." Slowly, Joel advanced quietly out of the shed, and headed down the line.  
After speaking to the signalman about the situation, they rumbled away to save Lewis. They hurried through the valley line, and then plunged into the tunnel. They passed the mine and finally came to a stop just outside the Base.

It was unguarded and quiet, so Joel bravely rolled forward. Ahead of him, he could see a shed, with the back of Lewis's cab barely poking out of the back. His Driver rolled his eyes. "Such poor security," he grumbled to himself.  
Very slowly, Joel positioned himself behind Lewis, and was coupled up. His Driver looked around every few seconds, to make sure nobody had seen them. He then headed back into Joel's cab.  
Just as Joel was pulling away, Lewis woke up. "What in blazes?!" he snapped crossly. "What's going on here?!"  
"Shush!" Joel snapped. "We're rescuing you!"  
But Lewis paid no attention. "INTRUDER! INTRUDER!" he yelled as loud as he could. "CRIMINALS! THIEVES!"

Alarms were suddenly blaring. Joel yelped and advanced as fast out of the Base as quickly as his wheels could carry him. "Idiot!" he snapped furiously. "It's me, Joel! I'm saving you from—"  
Just then, there was a rattle and a roar, and Daichi appeared in front of them. "I've got you, scum!" he was screaming. "How dare you! HOW DARE YOU!"  
Joel was horrified. "Great, now what?!" he shouted at his Driver.  
"We'll think of something!" his Driver replied as they plunged into the tunnel and sped into the valley. Daichi didn't hesitate to drive on the rails in pursuit.

"We're almost there!" Joel shouted. "Don't stop now!" They left the valley line and sped down the line leading to the Main Station. They rattled past farms and houses, and big fields filled with long grass and flowers.  
Daichi was driving alongside them on the dirt path. He was getting closer and closer to Joel, his eyes gleaming and a wicked grin on his face. "I've got you, criminal scum!" he shouted.  
But the Driver wasn't paying attention. Just ahead of Daichi was a deep puddle of mud, obscured by the tall grass. Daichi's Driver noticed it too late, and applied the brakes just before Daichi fell forward right into the muddy pit.  
"HAHA!" laughed Lewis triumphantly. "Who's the rustbucket now?!" And the two engines sped around the bend and out of sight.

Joel finally pulled into the Main Station with a loud screech. Standing on the platform was the Little Controller with the Representative. "Well! What's all this?" the Little Controller said.  
"Sir!" gasped Joel breathlessly. "They were…they were going to…."  
"By the way," the Little Controller interrupted, "We've just purchased Lewis from the Mainland. He'll be one of our own in no time. Thanks for bringing him here so quickly, I was going to ask you to bring him here later."  
He and the Representative walked away. Joel and Lewis stared blankly into space before both bursting out in exhausted laughter.


	31. Book 8, Chapter 1

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 8: Naomi the Steam Coach Engine**

* * *

_Dear Friends,_

___A little west of the Main Station, there is a branch line run by Naomi, a beautiful steam motor coach. She takes great pride in her work; she knows everybody, and everybody knows her. Many visitors are surprised when they see how different it is from any other branch line!_

Sometimes, however, Naomi's pride gets to her head, and she can become fairly troublesome. Because of this, the Big Controller has ordered another engine to help her out. They didn't get along too well when they first met though, and they competed with each other; this caused even more problems. Their real competition, however, might not run on rails…  


_The Author_

_

* * *

_

**Of Goats and Glory**

Naomi the steam motor coach loves nothing more than working on her branch line. Every day, she trundles to and fro, carrying people from station to station, fruits to market, and sometimes even mail. She is good friends with everyone she meets.  
Her Driver was especially proud of her. "Right on time, once again!" he would say as they pulled into the last station. "Naomi, you're a really splendid little engine!"  
This only made her very conceited. Naomi was always punctual and on time for any destination, and so, when the bigger engines of the Main Line met delays, she couldn't help but criticize, even if it wasn't their fault.

One chilly afternoon, she was waiting impatiently at the Main Station for Morning Light. Ever since Hiro left, Morning Light was put in charge of his passenger duties. And since they couldn't use their famous "slip coach" technique, Morning Light had to remember to stop at the Main Station.  
Eventually, Morning Light groaned in with his heavy train. "Sorry I'm late," he panted. "They were doing repairs up the line, and I…"  
"You may be a good friend," Naomi snorted, "but you're far too slow! Our railway has a reputation to keep up, you know."  
Morning Light rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, of course," he grunted. Soon, Naomi's passengers were on board, and she puffed away to make up for lost time.

Naomi's branch line runs through a small village, where there are several houses and farms along the line. A few miles from the village station lived an old woman, names Mrs. Miyagi, and her goat. She was almost always inside, so Naomi hardly ever saw her.  
This particular evening, the temperature was dropping, and Mrs. Miyagi was preparing for the cold night. She checked her fireplace and sighed sadly. "Oh dear me," she said with a frown. "It seems we've run out of coal."  
"Baa!" said her goat just as Naomi puffed by, whistling loudly. Mrs. Miyagi thought for a moment before coming up with a clever idea. She opened the door and led her goat outside to the tracks.

Naomi had just unloaded her passengers when the telephone rang in the station. The Stationmaster talked hurriedly to her Driver. "It seems some of the logging supplies arrived early," he explained. "The sidings are full and they can't have the trucks blocking the line in the morning. We need Naomi to collect them as soon as she can."  
So once they were ready, they hurried away down the line to head back to the Main Station. But along the way, Naomi saw something on the tracks ahead. "What in the world…?" her Driver said as he slowed Naomi to a stop.  
There, standing right in the middle of the line, was a big gray goat. It starred up at Naomi and blinked as it chewed on some grass.

"Peep peep!" Naomi whistled. "Move, if you'd please!"  
But the goat didn't move. It just stared stupidly at her cowcatcher. "Baa!" it said.  
Her Driver, Fireman and Guard tried all sorts of tricks, and even tried to "wheesh" it away with Naomi's steam, but it was no good. The goat just stayed right where it was and munched on the grass.  
Naomi gritted her teeth with impatience. "Come ON!" she cried despairingly.  
The Driver and Fireman were getting frustrated too. They started to grab lumps of coal and threw it at the goat, which skillfully dodged the flying black lumps. Soon, the guard joined in, and they all threw coal while yelling for the goat to move.

Just then, Mrs. Miyagi looked out of her home to see the commotion. She had wanted to hold the train up and ask the Guard for some coal, but this had worked much easier; beside the line was plenty of coal to get her through the night!  
She whistled at the goat. "Tessa, dear!" she called. "Come inside, please!"  
The goat's ears perked up, and it trotted away happily to her owner's cottage. Naomi and her crew stared in disbelief. "Well! Have you ever seen anything like it?" laughed the driver.  
Mrs. Miyagi collected the coal off the side of the track and apologized to Naomi and the Guard. "We would've been glad to share it if you flagged us down and asked!" he chuckled.  
As Mrs. Miyagi hurried inside with the coal, Naomi set off again to the Main Station.

Katsu was half asleep by the time Naomi steamed in. He was very surprised at how late she was. "Well here's a first!" he said. "Naomi, of all engines, late for work!"  
Naomi blushed crossly. "You watch your tongue, shrimp," she snorted as she coupled up to the flatbeds. "There was an animal on the line, and I HAD to stop."  
"One little animal shouldn't hold you up!" Katsu said mockingly. "It's like you said, 'Our railway has a reputation to keep up, you know.' Oh man, wait until Morning Light hears about this!"  
Katsu trundled off to his shed while a very embarrassed Naomi headed back home.


	32. Book 8, Chapter 2

**Tender Trouble**

Naomi's least favorite part of the railway was the Works. To her, it was a filthy, grimy place filled with rust and dirty smoke. "A fine engine like me," she would complain, "should never have to suffer the indignity of being surrounded by such filth!"  
Worst of all, there was Oni, the little Works engine. He had a weird humped body with cylinders on his top, reaching down to his wheels. He had come from far away, and worked at a brewery. Because of this, he was always in a happy, giggly state and loved to tease and taunt Naomi.  
One evening, Naomi pulled in to have her coach end mended. She was just falling asleep when Oni snuck alongside and whistled loudly. Naomi immediately woke up and yelped.  
"Nya ha ha!" laughed Oni as he left his flatbed of parts alongside Naomi. "What are you doing awake? Get some sleep!" He snickered as he puffed away.

In the morning, Naomi felt strangely uncomfortable. As she came to her senses, she looked back and discovered, much to her horror that her coach end was missing. Instead, there was a green tender coupled to her back.  
"Oni!" she shouted furiously. "ONI!"  
The little engine puffed up to her. "Where did the rest of me go?" snapped Naomi.  
"I dunno, you should go find it," Oni replied with a silly grin.  
"You little—!" Naomi started to say, but Oni zipped away. The Manager of the works came up to her.  
"Your coach needed some repairs," he said, "But there isn't a spare engine for your line, so we decided to give you your spare tender instead."

Naomi clattered away crossly with the tender. She arrived at the Main Station to collect her coaches. Katsu's jaw dropped when he saw her. "I thought we couldn't afford another engine…" he said.  
"It's me, Naomi!" the little green engine snapped crossly.  
"You certainly don't look like her," Katsu said as he shunted the branch line coaches to the platform.  
"I don't feel like myself either," Naomi said with a shudder. "Without the rest of me, I just feel so…I don't know…naked!"  
Katsu rolled his eyes. "You can still work though," he pointed out, "and that's what matters to the Big Controller."

When Naomi arrived back on her branch line, none of the people recognized her at first. "Who's the new engine?" the Stationmaster asked, before suddenly realizing who it was. "Oh, Naomi! What happened to you?"  
Naomi didn't answer. Instead, she let the passengers get on board the coaches, and she puffed quickly away. "I'll just finish my work as soon as possible," she said to herself, "and then nobody will have to see me like this.  
But Naomi hadn't thought of the Jobi Hill. The line past the village toward the furthest station went up a steep slope. Naomi could usually tackle it with ease, but without her coach body, her confidence had completely left her.

"Steady, girl," her Driver cautioned as they approached the bottom. Naomi wanted to charge the hill, but she couldn't make enough steam. She felt the strain of the coaches as she climbed. She was hissing mournfully from her cylinders.  
Soon, she could see over the other side, but she was still panting and struggling. "Just a little more…" she hissed.  
There was a sudden crack, and Naomi shot forward. Her back suddenly felt very cold. Her driver braked her and look back. "Oh no…" he groaned as he mopped his forehead.

Naomi's tender had snapped away, and it was rolling down the hill with the coaches. As they reached the bottom, the guard managed to stop the train, and waited for Naomi with his flags in hand.  
Blushing fit to burst, Naomi made her way slowly down the hill and was reattached to her tender. The passengers were cross. "What an unreliable engine!" they said. "Where's our usual engine?"  
Nobody said a word. Naomi had to back further down the line and try again, this time charging the hill at full speed. The Fireman had to keep looking back to make sure the coupling didn't come lose again.  
They managed to make it to the station only seconds late, but Naomi was miserable.

That evening, the Big Controller came to see her at the Sheds. "Naomi," he said, "I'm very proud of you. Even under your…ahem…unusual circumstances, you've done very well, from what your Driver tells me."  
Naomi blushed. "It was nothing, really," she said with a weary smile. "All trains must get through, right?"  
"You'll have your coach fitted back on very soon," the Big Controller told her kindly. "Get plenty of rest, because logging season starts soon, and we're bringing a new engine to help you. He's keen to make an impression, so teach him well."  
"You can count on me, Sir," Naomi said proudly.


	33. Book 8, Chapter 3

**Forest Curve**

A few days later, Naomi arrived at the harbor to meet the new engine. She had her coach end fitted back onto her, and she felt wonderful. "It shouldn't be too hard to show him the ropes," she said confidently to herself.  
Much to her horror, however, the engine was nothing like she had imagined. While she had been hoping for a steam engine, what she saw was a long yellow diesel, with green stripes and coach windows all along his sides.  
"This is your new working partner," the Representative said as he introduced him. "His name is Sora. I really hope you two get along well."  
The looks of anger and confusion on both of their faces suggested otherwise. Glaring holes into each other, they left the harbor and headed down to the branch line.

Naomi took Sora to the village station, the furthest point of the branch line. "Here," she was starting to say, "is where our line…"  
"Hey, listen," Sora interrupted with a smirk. "You don't need to tell me how things work, lady. I can figure it out on my own."  
Naomi was thunderstruck. "What did you say?" she spluttered.  
"Look, I'm a top of the line diesel of the modern world," Sora boasted. "I'm built to be the fastest, smartest, and most sophisticated branch line diesel you've ever seen. And you, you're just way behind the times. You should've been scrapped decades ago."  
"Sophisticated?" Naomi snapped. "You're a bus on rails!"  
Sora was so offended and furious he almost blew a fuse!

Branch line services had been halted for the day, so the two engines decided to have a race. Their Drivers refused at first, but when the Stationmaster told them it would be okay, they decided to go ahead. The Stationmaster held up a flag as the two engines prepared to go.  
"Are you ready? Three…two…one….GO!"  
No sooner had he waved the flag, Naomi and Sora snorted out of the station and down the line. Naomi, puffing hard, slowly drew in front, but Sora was soon catching up, his engine roaring.  
Sora was just about to pull in front of Naomi when he realized that the points were set against him. Suddenly, he was on the wrong line, screeching to a halt as Naomi puffed away, chortling triumphantly. "Catch me if you can!" she called out to him.

Naomi drew into the Main Station first, and took on as much water as she could. She could hear Sora's ugly horn honking from far off. "Wow, he caught up quick!" she said to herself.  
Katsu was shunting Ryu's coaches nearby. "Huh?" he said, surprised to see Naomi at the platform. "What's going on?"  
"I'm racing! No time to talk!" Naomi called out as she puffed away from the platform. Just as she cleared the bend, Sora growled into the station, panting hard as he hurried away behind her.  
"For being nearly sixty years old," Katsu mused to himself, "that Naomi sure can be reckless…"

Along the way, Naomi had to stop. A bus had been driving too close to the line, and it popped a tire on the rails. As they moved the big white bus away, Sora roared by, hooting and laughing loudly. "Take your time, steam kettle!" he shouted as his sped away from view.  
Naomi couldn't stand it. As soon as the bus was clear from the track, Naomi hurried after Sora. To her surprise, he had switched onto her line, to prevent her from getting ahead. She whistled loudly and shouted at him, but he paid her no attention.  
Up ahead was the Forest Curve, a dark, steep, curved tunnel leading up to the logging site. Naomi absolutely hated going through there, but Sora plunged into the darkness without a second thought.

As Naomi followed behind him, her smoke and steam filled the tunnel. Ahead, Sora's air intake was filled with smoke. He and his Driver were coughing as they struggled to keep going. There was a jerk as Sora's engine spluttered to a stop, but surrounded by Naomi's smoke, he couldn't tell what was going on. "Hey!" he gagged through the darkness. "Are we still moving?"  
From below, Naomi could just barely see, rolling backwards down the curve was Sora. She screeched to a stop and whistled loudly. "What are you doing?" she shouted. "Stop! STOP!"  
But it was too late. Sora bashed right into Naomi, and both engines derailed just at the mouth of the tunnel. The two Drivers and Naomi's Fireman were shaken but unhurt, but the engines' buffers were badly bent.

No. 12 soon arrived with the workmen and the Big Controller. He spoke severely to the two engines. "Racing at high speeds is forbidden on my railway!" he snapped at Sora. "Your recklessness could've seriously hurt innocent people! You should feel ashamed of yourself!"  
Sora gulped. Naomi smirked triumphant.  
"As for YOU!" the Big Controller continued, pointing his finger toward the steam coach. "You've been even worse! For an engine who's been working here for over fifty years, I'd expect you to have known much better than this. You told me I could rely on you, and now…" The Big Controller sighed and mopped his forehead. "Now I don't know."  
As the Big Controller walked away, Naomi's heart sank. Even Sora, who had antagonized her all day, couldn't say anything when he saw how ashamed the elderly steam engine was.


	34. Book 8, Chapter 4

**Troubles with Twins**

Naomi and Sora were sent to the Works to have their damaged buffers mended. As the workmen got them ready, they spoke quietly to each other. "I'm sorry about how I acted," Naomi said first. "The Big Controller was right. What was I thinking, starting a race like that?"  
"No, I'm the one who should be sorry," sighed Sora. "It's this whole 'diesel pride' thing."  
"What do you mean?"  
"They always have such high expectations for us when we're built. 'You'll be a revolution!' they told us. 'You're going to put those steam kettles out of work!' What if I just want to work like any other engine? Can't I just take passengers and make friends? I don't really have to hurt anybody else in the process, do I? It's so nerve-racking…"  
Naomi was surprised. "From how you were acting, I thought you were serious…" she said.

By the end of the next day, the damage had been repaired. As the workmen looked over everything to make sure the engines were ready, Oni bustled up alongside the railbus. "I hope you're ready for logging season," he said playfully, "otherwise you might be here again!"  
"Logging season?" Sora asked.  
"There's a rare tree that grows on our island," Naomi explained. "They call it the Jobi tree. The wood's really strong and sturdy, so lots of people want to use it to build things. Every few months, I take loggers up to the higher hills near my branch line, and bigger engines take the wood to faraway places."  
"The wood's heavy," Oni put in, "and sometimes, there aren't other engines to take it, so Naomi does it herself. I hope you're not a lightweight engine!"  
Sora grumbled to himself, while Oni's laughs of "Nya ha ha!" echoed around the works.

While Naomi and Sora were being mended, a pair of new buses was used to handle the passengers. These twins, one amber and one black, loathed railways and wished they would be ripped up. The amber one was Kin, and the black one as Kuro.  
When Naomi brought Sora to the station for his first day of work, there were hardly any people on the platform. She noticed the two buses on the nearby road, filled with her usual passengers.  
"Oh," Kin growled. "You're back."  
"Yes, and I want my people back, please," Naomi said sternly.  
"Not happening, lady," snorted Kuro. "Your days are over."  
"And you, road-traitor" Kin added, looking at Sora. "Better get some proper wheels fitted or you'll probably share her fate."  
The two buses rumbled away. Naomi and Sora were deeply shocked.

The following morning, the two engines were told that they were both needed to collect the loggers from the Main Station. "From what I was told on the phone," Sora's Driver said, "it sounds like the whole platform's crowded. We're lucky to have two engines this year."  
But when they arrived, the station was empty. Katsu stared at them. "What are you two doing here?"  
"We were told," Naomi said, "That there were people to pick up…"  
"Yeah, a pair of buses came and took them." Katsu said. "They said they were on official orders from the Big Controller. They were saying something about revolutions or some other nonsense…"  
Naomi was furious. "Those MONSTERS!" she hissed. "They've stolen our people!"  
Grumbling dreadfully, Naomi hurried out of the station, Sora following close behind.

They hurried down the line until they reached the Forest Curve. Here they shut off Sora's motor and they loosely coupled him up to Naomi. With much effort, she pulled over the difficult bend, and once they were clear of the tunnel, she picked up speed toward the logging site.  
Along the nearby road, Sora noticed something between the trees. "Hey, look!" he shouted. Next to them were Kin and Kuro, speeding along the road with their passengers bouncing in their seats. Ahead of them was the level crossing. Naomi wanted to stop in front of it to block the buses, but she was going much too fast, and she would miss the crossing by several yards. Then she realized something Hiro used to do with his train.  
"Sora!" she shouted at him. "I'm going to let you go now!"  
Sora was baffled. "Wait, WHAT?" he exclaimed, but just then, the guard appeared out of his compartment and knocked Sora's already loose coupling.

As Naomi sped past the crossing, Sora began to roll away from her. His Driver brought him neatly to a stop, right in front of the crossing gates. Naomi slowed to a stop and backed away to see Kin and Kuro fuming at the gate. "Good job!" she said cheerfully to Sora.  
The buses snarled. "You haven't beaten us!" they said together. "We'll get you yet!" They tried to drive away, but the road ended at the gate. They rolled into the muddy ground and finally stopped, unable to move a wheel.  
The loggers came out of the buses. "We should've known to wait for our usual train!" one of them said crossly as he kicked Kin's wheel. The loggers apologized to Naomi, and they boarded her and Sora. With that, they hurried away to the logging site, leaving the buses stranded where they were.

The following morning, the Big Controller came to the sheds to see the two engines. "I've spoke to the bus company," he said, "and you won't be seeing that pair stealing your passengers anymore."  
The two engines smiled in relief. "Thank you, Sir," they said together.  
"I've heard nothing but praise about you two," he went on, "especially from the loggers. Naomi, you'll be getting a new coat of paint. And Sora, I'd like to welcome you to our railway, as our very first diesel locomotive."  
Sora grinned. "Really, Sir, you should get…" he started, but Naomi's stern look quickly quieted him. "Uh, I mean, thank you, Sir!"  
Sora is still learning to be a Really Useful Engine, but he knows now that whenever he needs help, he can always turn to his best friend Naomi.


	35. Book 9, Chapter 1

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 9: Misaki the Big Tank Engine**

* * *

_Dear Friends,_

___The Main Line engines have had more work than ever, so the Big Controller has decided to have another engine built. However, the engine won't be completed for some time, so Misaki and No. 12, the two tank engines who work with the Main Line engines, have to help out much more than they're used to._

Misaki surprised me when she told me she was delighted with the thought of extra work. She had grown bored and weary with her usual goods trains, and was excited to really get a chance to work with the likes of Morning Light and Ryu. However, the two big engines were weary about having two tank engines working on the Main Line.

Considering how Misaki acted on the first day, I can hardly blame them! But I suppose she's gotten better after what happened when Ryu went away...  


_The Author_

_

* * *

_

**The Sunlight Express**

The Big Station is always bustling with passengers from all across Japan and all over the world. Every day, the trains seem to get longer and heavier, and the Main Line engines always make sure to work harder and more efficiently with every train they're given.  
Morning Light, one of the biggest engines on the Island, is especially diligent when he pulls his special Express. It starts from the Mainland's station and goes across to the Island, where it doesn't stop until it reaches the station by the coast. After that, it takes passengers from there to the Main Station, and then finally to the Valley Station.  
Morning Light had remembered that this was once Hiro's special train, and so he always made sure to pull the train as he did. The train didn't have a name, but the passengers liked to call it "The Sunlight Express".

Misaki had been great friends with the bigger engines, but if you were to ask her, the Sunlight Express wasn't that big of a deal.  
"It's just a normal train, like any other," she remarked one afternoon while Morning Light was preparing to leave for the Valley Station. "You pull the coaches to the stations, and that's it. There's no trick to it."  
Morning Light frowned slightly. "Obviously," he said, "a tank engine like yourself wouldn't understand the concept of a special express like this one."  
"I know how to pull a train, Akio!" she chuckled.  
"You wouldn't even make it to the coast on the first run," Morning Light said with a roll of his eyes.  
"Oh, I bet I could!" Misaki chortled. "Just you wait and see."  
"I certainly will," Morning Light sighed as the guard blew his whistle.

Morning Light didn't have to wait long. The next day was his monthly inspection at the Works. As he was a prototypical engine, he had to be inspected every so often to make sure he was running well, and if any changes would be needed to make him more efficient.  
"But I have a train today!" he said miserably as he pulled into the works. "And Ryu's out with his goods train already. Who's going to take the Express?"  
"Don't worry," the Big Controller said as he pulled out his notebook. "Misaki will be double-heading it with Number 12. I'm sure they could handle it."  
Morning Light cringed. He knew No. 12 was reliable, but Misaki was another story.  
"Don't worry a bit!" Oni laughed as he puffed alongside. "At least she's not trying to take it alone, right?"

In reality, Misaki was under the impression that she was. When she arrived at the station on the Mainland, she was surprised to see No. 12 already coupled to the train. "What's going on?" she said.  
"You really can't take this train on your own," the Stationmaster explained. "Number 12 here is going to help you."  
Misaki was upset, but decided to head off with No. 12 anyway. "Passengers come first, right?" she said to reassure herself. As the people got in, she slowly backed down onto No. 12 and soon, they were ready to go. The guard blew his whistle and waved his flag, and the two engines pull with all their might.  
Slowly, the heavy coaches began to move. Misaki found herself straining more than she had anticipated, even with No. 12's help.

It took a while before the train was finally running smoothly. Misaki's Driver was concerned. "At this rate, we're not going to make it in time," he said with a frown.  
Misaki gasped for breath. "Come ON!" she groaned to the coaches.  
No. 12 could see that Misaki was pushing herself too hard. He had helped with big trains before, and knew the best way to do so was to not put too much pressure on himself. He wanted to warn her, so he tried whistling at her to get her attention. But Misaki was in such a state that she couldn't figure out what he was trying to tell her.  
"What was that?" she panted. "I know we're behind, I'm doing the best I can!"  
No. 12 heard her groaning in front and frowned. He knew she was heading for trouble.

Later, Kin and Kuro, the twin buses, had already arrived with their passengers for the next train. They relaxed in the warm sun and waited for the Sunlight Express. The two were surprised; they had never known the train to be late before. When they saw Misaki pulling in with the train, they burst out in laughter.  
"It looks like you're going to bust your boiler!" Kuro chuckled.  
The two engines stopped the train. Misaki was red in the face and trying to catch her breath. She looked as if she was in pain.  
"Don't worry, steamer," Kin said. "After you're scrapped, you won't have to stress – HEY!" he suddenly coughed as No. 12 blew steam at him.  
Misaki wanted to rest, but the next train was due out soon. No. 12, however, realized, that something was wrong with her. He shunted her into a siding and the Guard spoke to the Stationmaster.

Before long, the arrangements were made. Ryu came to handle the Sunlight Express, and No. 12 headed Ryu's train, with Misaki coupled in front. On his way down the line, they stopped the train by the Works, and No. 12 shunted her inside.  
After No. 12 had left, the workmen examined Misaki all over. As they did so, she noticed Morning Light beside her. "Still think you can handle it alone?" he said with a chuckle.  
Misaki blushed. "I couldn't do it, not even with Twelve's help!" she said. "How do you manage?"  
"That's what you should have asked before you left!" came the teasing voice of Oni as he trundled alongside. Misaki could only roll her eyes as the little engine's laughter echoed through the Works.


	36. Book 9, Chapter 2

**Twelve's Chocolate Train**

Some of the workmen stayed overtime to help the two engines, and by morning, Misaki was ready to go, and Morning Light's inspection was almost complete. She couldn't thank the workmen enough.  
"It's amazing," remarked Morning Light, "how they can mend both of us and still have time to work on that new engine."  
"New engine?" Misaki asked.  
"There's too much for us to handle on the Main Line," Morning Light explained, "so the Big Controller's ordered for a new engine. These guys have been working day and night to finish it."  
Misaki watched them work and sighed. "They do so much for us," she said. "I wish we could repay them, somehow."  
Just then, her Driver and Fireman arrived. "Come along," they said to her. "We've got banking duty today."  
Misaki said goodbye to everyone, and then she puffed away to work.

Meanwhile, No. 12 had been through a rough night. A special had come in and was to be brought to the lumber yard, and he was the only available engine to take it. But the line to the forest went through Naomi's branch line, and he had gotten lost. In the end, he had been yelled at by an old lady for being too loud while a goat wandered onto the line.  
By morning, he was exhausted and had crawled home to the sheds to rest. While he relaxed in the warm morning sun, his Driver got notice of a goods train for them to take. "We'd better get ready to go," he told No. 12.  
The big engine wanted to protest. His Driver understood. "Don't worry," he said calmly. "It's only a train of chocolate. It'll be just fine."  
No. 12 gave a sigh of relief. The thought of pulling a train filled with chocolate sounded a little fun.

But when he arrived to collect the train, he found he would be in for a rough trip. There in the middle of the train was Grunt. Grunt was a goods van, the oldest and ugliest on the line. The old truck had taken a liking to picking on No. 12, and things always when wrong whenever the two were together.  
"Oh, it's YOU," Grunt snorted with a crude grin, exposing the gap where one tooth was missing. "You don't bug me, and I don't bug you, got it?"  
No. 12 gave him a nasty look. Just as he was about to puff to the front of the train, Grunt shouted out, "Everyone! Bump him 'till he learns to scream!" No. 12 blushed furiously while all of the trucks giggled and passed the word.  
"Let's not let him beat us today," sighed his Driver as No. 12 was coupled up.

As they hurried down the line, the trucks seemed to be running smoothly. While the Driver wasn't worrying, No. 12 knew the trucks were only pretending to behave. He was right; they had only arrived at the coastal station when two of the vans violently bashed into each other, coming off the rails. Luckily, their boxes of chocolate remained undamaged, so No. 12 left them to be unloaded and headed off.  
His next stop was at the station at the end of the Ice Line. He knew he would have to face the big hill again, but he remained confident. All at once, however, he felt the heavy vans hold him back.  
"Hold him back! Pay him out! Show him what we're all about!" they chanted. Grunt's voice was the loudest of them all.  
No. 12 did he best, but by the time he reached the Ice Line junction, he was exhausted. Luckily for him, Misaki was in the nearby siding waiting for him.

"I heard you'll need a back engine!" she chuckled. "No worries, Twelve, I'm coming to help."  
No. 12 was relieved. Misaki carefully buffered up behind the train, and on the Guard's whistle, they puffed away to charge at the hill.  
But the trucks were relentless. "Hold back! Hold back!" they sneered. As they began to climb, Misaki could feel them pushing against her buffers. But she kept pushing as hard as she could, even though No. 12 was loosing steam.  
The Guard felt the train buckle. "No! Stop!" he tried to shout to Misaki, but she was puffing too loudly for her Driver to hear.  
Grunt was feeling triumphant. "Ha ha!" he chortled. "I knew you couldn't do it!"  
But suddenly, he felt himself buckle upward, and his wheels left the rails. All at once, he found himself falling onto his side. He screamed as his coupling snapped, and he slid down the side of the hill. The first vans in front of and behind Grunt had not fallen over, but had jumped off the rails. The rest of the train remained on the track as No. 12 and Misaki came to a stop.

Nobody had been hurt. The guard pinned down the brakes, and Misaki hurried away to find the breakdown train. She soon returned with two large yellow cranes on flatbeds, and the cleanup began. They first put the two vans back on the rails, and No. 12 backed down to couple them together.  
"You'll behave yourselves now, won't you?" Misaki said to the vans with a grin.  
"Y-yes, w-we will," they stammered, looking at the wrecked Grunt laying on his side. No. 12 headed back down the hill, and then pulled them up and onto the Ice Line with no trouble at all.  
Misaki stayed and watched the cranes bring Grunt back onto the rails. His side door was caved in, and his wheels were wrecked, so they put him on a flatbed. Misaki pulled the cranes away, and then brought Grunt to the Works.

At the Works, they examined the damaged and dizzy old van. "It'll take some time," said the Manager, "but we can fix him."  
Inside, they could see lots of crates filled with chocolate. Some of the crates had been broken open during the crash, and chocolate bars were everywhere. "They can't sell ruined chocolate," Misaki's Driver said. "What should we do?"  
Then Misaki had an idea. "How about you guys keep the chocolate?" she said. "It can be a token of our appreciation!"  
The workmen were delighted, and thanked Misaki for her "very fortunate accident". Oni puffed up and brought the crates to the break room on his flatbeds.  
Misaki could only smile when she saw the workmen enjoying their chocolate. "I guess I did thank them," she said to herself. "By accident, anyway!"


	37. Book 9, Chapter 3

**Unwelcome Guest**

One morning, the Big Controller came to the Sheds. Ryu was told that he was to go to the Works for a repaint. He was going to be repainted in the railway's uniform green with yellow stripes. He was delighted, and boasted about it. "I'm going to look so awesome!" he said proudly.  
"You'll look just like everyone else!" Naomi laughed.  
"Who's doing his work while he's gone?" asked Sora.  
The Big Controller frowned. "I know you and No. 12 can't handle it," he said, "so I've asked the Mainland if we can borrow one of their new diesels."  
All of the engines frowned. "Yeah, way to go, Ryu," muttered Katsu.  
"Cheer up," said the Big Controller. "The new engine's nearly finished, so we won't have to borrow diesels as much anymore."  
The engines were pleased with this news, but the thought of one of the Mainland's diesels on their rails still made them disgusted.

Ryu left, and the new diesel arrived an hour later. He had 12 wheels, a long front and back, and a squat cab in his center. He was painted black all over with orange stripes, and his bufferbeam was yellow.  
He purred into the Sheds, and the Big Controller introduced him. "Here," he said, "is Raiden. Please help him to feel comfortable during his stay."  
"Yes, Sir," the engines muttered.  
"And you," the Big Controller continued, looking at Raiden, "be on your best behavior, or you're heading right back to the Mainland. Do you understand?"  
"Yeah, I got it," Raiden snorted in a bored tone.  
The Big Controller glared at the big diesel. All of the engines stared at Raiden. Nobody had ever disrespected the Big Controller before. Raiden just raised an eyebrow at them. "What's with you all?" he said his gruff voice. "Never seen a diesel before?"  
Before anyone else could speak, he rumbled away from the shed to work.

Raiden's first job was to collect coal trucks from the mine. Misaki had already shunted the filled trucks into place. She was chatting to Smudger and Joel, two of the narrow gauge engines, when Raiden arrived. He stared at the hoppers and the little engines. "Well," he said bluntly, "never seen anything like this before."  
Misaki blinked. "And who are you?" she asked.  
"I'm Raiden," the diesel replied. "Now could you hurry up and get me my trucks? I don't have time to sit around like you steamers."  
Misaki was insulted. "Hey!" she snapped. "We don't talk like that around here."  
"Pah," muttered Raiden. "What's it matter what I say? Trucks, freight cars, they're the same thing."  
"That's NOT what I..." Misaki began, before she noticed the number 51 painted on the side of his cab. "What are you doing with that number?" she said crossly. "That's Hiro's number!"

"Hiro?" Raiden said. "Oh, that old timer? I can pull twice as much at twice his speed, all in perfect safety. I don't know why your railway still bothers with steam. It's so outdated and old-fashioned. Once your Controller gets some sense to buy more engines like me, he'll be thankful."  
Raiden rolled away with his heavy train. Misaki was furious, and so were the little engines. "What right does he have to say he's better than the Master of the Railway?" Smudger spat.  
Joel and Smudger told the rest of the little engines, who told the big engines at the Main Station. By the time Morning Light returned with the Sunlight Express, every engine on the island was angry at Raiden. The big engine found Misaki shunting Raiden's next goods train in the yard. He spoke to her while he took on water in a siding.  
"How DARE he!" Misaki was grumbling as she bumped the trucks roughly into place. "I wish we could teach him a lesson somehow."  
"Don't waste your time on him," Morning Light said. "It's not worth it. Besides, with his attitude, it's going to bite him in the buffers soon."

Morning Light was right. The trucks had heard the news, and they were cross too. "Who does he think he is, getting every engine on the line riled up?" Grunt the goods van snorted from the middle of the train. "That's OUR job! Let's show him who runs this island, shall we?"  
When Raiden arrived to collect it, he could hear the trucks giggling and snickering to each other. "Hey, you lot," he snapped. "No chattering from you. I'm too busy for your games."  
"Oh course you are, Sir," said Grunt sarcastically.  
What Raiden didn't know was that some of the trucks in the train were the old red trucks from the mine. They were always problematic, especially with their brakes, which could easily slip on. When Raiden buffered up to the train, some of these trucks had their breaks on, and for the first time he could remember, he found himself struggling to start a train.  
"Pull all day! Pull all night! We won't go without a fight!" chanted the trucks.

Raiden was infuriated. "Get moving!" he snarled, and he pulled harder, but the train hardly budged. He collected himself and backed up again, and then pulled even harder. There was a sudden jerk, and the train began to move.  
"Hah!" Raiden said proudly. "No trucks can beat this diesel!" And he rumbled grandly out of the yard, completely unaware of what actually happened. The coupling had snapped on one of the red trucks, leaving half of his train behind.  
He rolled proudly through the valley line as the narrow gauge engines puffed along. "Look at me, little toy trains!" he boasted. "On time and really reliable!"  
But the little engines looked more like they were throwing back fits of laughter. Raiden couldn't understand it, so he just ignored it and went on his way. It wasn't until they reached the next signalbox that they realized what had happened.

In the end, Raiden had to go all the way back down the line and collect the rest of the train after delivering the first. Embarrassed and confused, the big diesel hoped none of the engines had heard the news. But when he pulled into the shed that night, the other engines were trying hard to contain their laughter.  
Raiden glared at them. "What are you all snickering about?" he grumbled. "It could have happened to any of us!"  
"I don't know," snickered Misaki. "Hiro was half your strength and speed, and he's never left a truck behind."  
"I... well..." Raiden tried to speak, but he was so tired and cross that he didn't have the will to say a word. "Stupid things," he muttered to himself as the watched the other engines chatter amongst each other.


	38. Book 9, Chapter 4

**Misaki the Hero**

The Big Controller was cross when he heard the news about Raiden. He wanted to send him back to the Mainland right away, but Raiden's Controller insisted that the diesel should be given another chance. Reluctantly, the Big Controller agreed.  
Ryu returned on the day before Raiden left. He was now sporting the railway's green with yellow colors, and he now had the number 5 painted on the side of his cab. The other engines thought he looked splendid, but their weren't as pleased when he began to boast about it.  
"You're looking at the pride of the line now!" he said grandly. "I bet I could look awesome pulling just about anything now!"  
"But you HATE working," pointed out Sora.  
"Not when I look this good, my little branch line friend," Ryu replied with a grin. "Just you wait and see."

Later that evening, Misaki was at the Big Station when Ryu pulled in. He had just returned from his goods run, and he was in high spirits. "Everyone thinks I look great!" he puffed. "It's weird, but I think I actually like working a little more now."  
"That's nice," Misaki said, "but be careful around Raiden."  
"Raiden? Who's that?"  
"A diesel from the Mainland. He's been filling in for you while you were away. I'm worried he might try something devious before he goes."  
"Pah," Ryu said absently. "The Mainland diesels are all bark and no bite. This one will be no different."  
Before they could leave, the Stationmaster appeared. "You two," he said, "could you go help at the logging site? There are trucks to be moved and loggers to take home, and Naomi and Sora are handling a special together."

The two made their way to the logging site. While Ryu made his way over to the water tower, Misaki carefully organized the log trucks. Before long, she had two trains of lumber ready to go. Raiden was coming to take one train while Ryu took the other, so Misaki was in charge of getting the loggers safely home.  
Misaki collected three coaches from the yard. While she was there, they loaded two large cans of fuel into the last coach. "It's for Raiden," said the Guard. "We need to bring him some fuel so he can make it home tomorrow."  
They returned to the logging site. Raiden had just arrived and was waiting behind Ryu, who was being loaded up with coal. Misaki collected the loggers in her coaches, and hurried away down the line. She was enjoying her run under the moonlight when she realized that they had forgotten to give Raiden his fuel.  
"Don't worry," said the Driver. "We'll bring the loggers home first, and then find Raiden and give him the fuel."

They never got the chance. Misaki and the Guard suddenly noticed something behind them. It was Ryu, his lamps bright and slowly gaining on them.  
"That's strange," Misaki said to herself. "Ryu shouldn't have left yet."  
The Guard shouted out for Ryu's Driver, but there was no reply. Ryu was panicking, going faster and faster. "Help me, Misaki!" he shouted out in desparation.  
"What's going on?" Misaki called back as she went faster herself. "Is there something behind you?"  
"No, it's not that!" Ryu cried out, but Misaki was going too far ahead to hear him. Her passengers were terrified. If Ryu didn't stop soon, there would be a crash. Closer and closer they were getting to the Main Line, but Ryu still didn't stop.

They had just reached the track to the Main Line when Misaki suddenly got an idea. "The fuel!" she said to her Driver. "If we spilled it on the rails, he'd slow down, right?"  
Her Driver thought this was a grand idea. Carefully, the Guard opened the back of the coach and spilled the diesel fuel all over the rails. Soon, Ryu was going slower and slower, until the light of his lamp grew dim in the distance.  
Misaki carefully stopped and reversed down the line. They found Ryu still running at full speed, but the rails were so oily by now that he could barely move an inch. Misaki's Guard suddenly noticed something. "There's no one in his cab!" he called out.  
Quickly, the Driver and Guard hurried into Ryu's cab and shut off steam. The exhausted engine's wheels finally came to a stop. "Oh, thank you, Misaki!" he called out to her as he caught his breath.  
They sanded the rails and Misaki backed up to Ryu. Cautiously, she backed him and her coaches off of the main line and back onto the branch.

The Guard had just changed the points when Morning Light barreled past with an overnight goods train. Misaki was amazed. "Wow," she said. "Talk about a near miss, eh?"  
They backed down the line to the nearest station, where the Guard explained what happened to the Stationmaster. Kin and Kuro were soon called to take the loggers home. They here frustrated about having to be woken up so late at night. "The one time we're called to replace a steamer, and it had to be now," they muttered.  
Meanwhile, Ryu was explaining to Misaki what had happened. "Raiden biffed me!" he said. "I was just about to go when he came up behind me and bumped me. My Driver and Fireman were knocked off the footplate. What was he trying to do?"  
Misaki looked grimly back towards the Main Line, where Morning Light had been only seconds ago. "I could only imagine," she said darkly.

The Big Controller was livid when he heard the news. Misaki took him up to the logging site, where he scolded the big diesel severely.  
"Sorry," Raiden said in a deadpan tone. "It was just an accident."  
"Accidentally on purpose," corrected the Big Controller angrily. "You've been nothing but trouble since you got here, and you almost caused a horrible accident! Rest assured, I won't be inviting you back to my railway soon!"  
After Raiden left, the Big Controller thanked Misaki and her crew for their heroism. After the two engines had plenty of water and coal, Misaki and Ryu took the last number trains away.  
"Hey, Ryu?" she said as they puffed down the line. "You think the new engine's going to have adventures like this too?"  
Ryu thought for a moment. "I'm not sure," he said with a small smile, "but if he gets a friend as good as you, I won't doubt it."  
Misaki could only blush and hide herself in a cloud of steam.


	39. Book 10, Chapter 1

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 10: The Post Office Engines**

* * *

_Dear Friends,_

___At the end of the Lower Valley Railway at the Valley Station, there lies a terminus leading to a small but important little railway that only the railwaymen and engines know about. The Tanishima Post Office Railway goes through the Island's capital city, with the biggest stop on the line at their own little Works station near the mountain._

Two prototype twin engines have been brought in. Number 1 has been a hazardous little engine, and he was difficult to work with. However, his bother, Number 2, is a much more dependable engine, and has been dreaming of being the railway's express engine! He's made plenty of new friends, and has even helped an older one...  


_The Author_

_

* * *

_

**The Secret Railway**

Every morning, Edward Mann's first train starts off at the harbor. He collects several bright red vans, and puffs away all the way to the Valley Station at the other side of the railway. It's a long and tiring journey, and he usually doesn't return until late in the afternoon.  
Smudger was often curious about it. He himself often worked the main passenger duties, and he was growing increasingly bored. One night, he spoke to Edward Mann about it.  
"You? Bored?" Edward Mann said in surprise. "How could you be bored?"  
"It's the same sights every day," Smudger sighed. "What's that morning run you do? Could we switch trains?"  
Edward Mann paused to think about it. "Sure thing," he said, "but we should talk to our Drivers first."

Early the next morning, they spoke to their Drivers about it, and when they said "yes", Smudger hurried away to the harbor. Waiting for him in the siding were the bright red vans. Each were piled high with sacks of letters and parcels from the nearby ship.  
"A Post Train?" Smudger said to himself as he backed down to be coupled up.  
Just then, the Guard blew his whistle. "Come along, Smudger," his Driver said. "The mail can't wait!"  
Smudger was caught by surprise at how heavy the train was at first. But with a deep breath and a huge puff, he soon had the heavy train in motion. As the valley line was nowadays restricted to the primary passenger traffic, Smudger had to make his way down the coastal route.

At last, he made it to the Valley Station. A man in a red suit was waiting for him. "You're the new engine?" he said. "Please, shunt the vans in there." He pointed at a tunnel at the end of the platform.  
"Yes, Sir," Smudger tooted in reply, and then puffed slowly into the tunnel. As he did so, a squeaking voice echoed out. "No no no!" it said. "Not like that! Push them in, not pull them. We don't like getting smoke in here!"  
Smudger blushed in embarrassment. Quickly, he reversed to the sidings, and put the vans in front of him. He then pushed them into the tunnel. "There!" the little voice squeaked. "Now that's how you do it."

In the mouth of the tunnel, Smudger looked around, and there on the lower track beside him was the weirdest looking engine he had ever seen. It had no driver, and had two large wheels in front, two more in back, and a long truck in between, with four open slots. The engine was painted red, and looked more like a motor mounted on wheels.  
"You're the first-timer?" he asked Smudger. "Welcome to our humble little railway!"  
"Hello," said Smudger in a curious tone. "I'm Smudger, and who are you?"  
"I don't have a name," the engine replied. "I'm number 755, if that works for you."  
"No name?" Smudger asked.  
"There's too many of us to name!" 755 laughed as another engine rolled in. "And here's 827."

The workmen opened up Smudger's vans. "So what do you guys do?" Smudger went on.  
"Oh, we're the post engines," 827 said. "After the mail gets sorted at these sorting centers, we take mail around to the post offices. It's heavy work, but it's a lot of fun. They put the mail in those little carts," he said, glancing down at the mail, "and then we carry the carts between stops."  
"But what about Drivers or Guards?" Smudger said. "Where are they?"  
"We have no use for them!" laughed 755. "We're electric, you see. They have this big system mapped out that makes us move all on our own!"  
"I don't think I could do that," Smudger said quietly. "It sounds too dangerous to me."

"What are you talking about?" 827 said. "Such a big engine like you shouldn't have to worry about trouble!"  
Smudger tried not to laugh. "You guys don't get out much, do you?"  
"We're entirely underground!" 755 said as the carts were loaded onto him. "So we don't like having steam visitors too often. Now I best be going to talk some sense into Number 1."  
"Oh, not him again," 827 sighed. "I thought the Red Controller already talked to him?"  
"Apparently, he hasn't been able to get through to him," 755 muttered.  
"Who?" Smudger asked.  
"Two new prototypes came in to try work," 755 said. "They're brothers and one of them is a terror. All he does is complain. His brother started off like him, but he's much better already. If Number 1 doesn't shape up, I'm not sure our Controller will let him stay."

A workman pushed a button and, with a rattle and a hiss, 755 rumbled away into the smaller tunnel. It wasn't long until Smudger's train was finally empty, and the guard blew his whistle. Smudger puffed away back home, and for the rest of the day, he could only think of the little postal engines.  
That night, he talked to Edward Mann about them. "So," the older engine asked, "do you like them?"  
Smudger chuckled."Well they're different and odd," he said, "but I can't say they're not interesting."  
"They'll grow on you soon enough," Edward Mann said with a smile. "Those little engines can be some of the most reliable friends you'll find anywhere."  
"Now if only they had names," Smudger grinned. "Then maybe I can remember them all!"


	40. Book 10, Chapter 2

**Accidents Happen**

The two new prototype engines, numbers 1 and 2, were both determined to prove to the little postal railway that they were the best of all the engines. But the way they tried to prove themselves, however, were very different from each other.  
No. 2 stood for no nonsense and never liked to idle about. He had wanted to be the railway's express engine, taking the most urgent mail from one end of the line to the other without stopping. As much of a hard worker he was, he was tired of making so many little stops that he found so inconvenient.  
No. 1, however, was stubborn and cross. His idea of being the best worker meant that he wanted everybody else to conform to his standards. He always complained about every small problem, and he often bounced and rocked so much that he would derail. When that happened, they would have to cut the power to the line, and bring one of the three electric locomotives to rescue him.  
The Red Controller, who ran the railway, warned No. 1 several times, but the electric engine took no notice.

"Dirty tunnels, dirty mail, dirty carts!" No. 1 was grumbling one evening while he pulled into the Workshop. He was relieved for a rest; all trains ran for 22 hours every day, and went to the Workshop for 2 hours to be inspected and serviced as necessary.  
"It's not so bad," No. 2 said while he was being prepared to leave. "You get to stretch your wheels for some good miles. Some bigger engine aren't even allowed to go as fast as us."  
"Pah," grumbled No. 1 with a roll of his eyes. "Speed's all you live for, isn't it? Why not ask that big red man for a promotion or something, if you're so insistent about that Express?"  
No. 1 had only been joking; in his mind, he couldn't imagine a Controller allowing a new engine to pull such important mail. But No. 2 took his words to heart. For the rest of the night, he kept an eye out for the Red Controller.

At last, he found him at the Valley Station stop that morning. He explained how he had felt.  
"You, pulling the Express?" The Red Controller said with surprise.  
"Yes, sir!" No. 2 said before quickly trying to contain his excitement. "I mean... it'll be a good way to learn the whole line, is all."  
The Red Controller paused to think. "Your behavior's been good, much better than your brother's," he said, "so I suppose I can give you a chance. After your work today is finished, come back here for your train. I suppose we could give it a shot."  
No. 2 beamed and his axles tingled. "Thank you, Sir!" he said happily as he rattled off down the line with his mail. He wished he had a horn or whistle to show how happy he was.

Evening came, and at the other end of the line, No. 1 was tired and frustrated. He wanted to get back to the Workshop as soon as possible, but he was carrying more mail now than he could stand. He was at the station and ready to go when the Operator appeared from his box.  
"The switches have short-circuited," he said with a frown. "I can't change them, and the Express is due, so I can't allow No. 1 onto that line."  
No. 1 scoffed. "Why not change the points further ahead, and I can switch onto another line before it comes through?"  
"Are you sure?" the Operator asked. "If you don't move quickly..."  
"I'd move faster if somebody pressed that button," No. 1 interrupted rudely. "It'll be fine, old man, just let me get going!"

The workman pushed the button, and No. 1 rattled down the tunnel. "Come ON, come ON!" he grunted to his carts as he began to pick up speed. He knew his little stunt was risky and dangerous, but he couldn't care less. All he wanted was to be back in the Workshop for his rest.  
Down the other end of the line was No. 2 with his own train. He was having tremendous fun thundering down the long tunnels, his wheels rattling and echoing everywhere. He had to slow down between stations, but the other engines were impressed at the excellent time he was making.  
He was just passing the Workshop Station when he thought he saw something coming the other way. He squinted to see better, until he realized, with much horror, that it was No. 1 heading right for him.  
"Hey! HEY! MOVE!" he cried out. He wanted to stop, but without a Driver, all he could do was shut his eyes and brace for the accident.

There was a loud CLANG was his wheels suddenly left the rails; he was crossing over some points, but they had been set against him for No. 1 to pass. No. 2 tumbled off the rails, but not before No. 1 collided with No. 2's end. With a terrified shriek, No. 1 rolled over off the rails, his mail carts falling out  
The two engines weren't badly damaged, and No. 2 had managed to remain upright, but No. 1's mail had spilled all over the ground. Both engined felt rather silly. But their embarrassment soon turned into worry, as there was nobody nearby, so there was no way for other trains to know about the crash.  
Luckily, the Signalman at the Workshop Station, who had expected No. 1's arrival, noticed he was delayed and grew concerned. He cut the power to the line and telephoned to the rest of the stations to warn them that danger may be ahead.  
Soon, two of the electric locomotives arrived from the Workshop to investigate, and a cleanup of the mess was quickly underway. Two other engines arrived to collect No. 1 and 2's mail.

As the two engines were being checked back at the Workshop, the Red Controller arrived, having heard everything. "No. 2," he said, "I hear you were doing well, at least, until the accident. Once you're mended. I'm willing to give you a second chance."  
He then turned to No. 1. "You still haven't learned, have you?" he said angrily.  
"Hey, come on!" No. 1 spluttered in a disrespectful tone. "I just wanted to get back to the Workshop to rest!"  
"Well you'll be staying here for quite a while!" the Red Controller snapped. "I can't trust you to run on these rails again. You're going to stay here and taken apart, so we can figure out what's wrong with you."  
No. 1 was awfully quiet for the rest of the night.


	41. Book 10, Chapter 3

**Sushi Train**

No. 2 was back to work the following day. He wanted to go right back on the Express line, but the Red Controller thought otherwise. "We'll have you doing the usual mail runs for now," he said kindly, "and after you know the whole line by heart, I'll let you back on the Express." No. 2 was disappointed, but worked hard anyway.  
The winter season had come, and more mail was being transported every day. Sometimes two of the engines would have to be coupled up to move lots of mail to the furthest stations But the harder they worked, the more mail there seemed to be.  
Most of the mail was coming from overseas. More of the steam engines of the Little Controller's railway were put to work with the mail run, and No. 2 seemed to be meeting more unusual engines every day.

One day, a small yellow engine had come to deliver the mail from the ship. She looked exhausted, but glad the job was done. She introduced herself to No. 2, who had just pulled in. "The name's Candy," she whistled.  
"How'd you manage to pull all of that?" No. 2 asked in amazement as he examined her long train in amazement. "I've never seen so much trucks!"  
Candy chuckled. "It's hard work, but I always find a way to pull my train," she said with a cheeky grin. "Ingenuity, my driver calls it."  
No. 2 didn't completely understand what she meant, but he took her words to heart. He talked to the other engines about it, but they never stayed long enough to talk more about it.

Whenever No. 2 met Candy again, she would tell him all about the station above the little underground railway. One day she told him about a new restaurant that had opened in the station. "It's called a Sushi train restaurant!" she chuckled.  
"Uhm, sushi...train?" No. 2 asked.  
"Sushi's some kind of fishy food that people eat," Candy explained. "In a sushi train restaurant, the sushi rides along this long conveyor belt thing..."  
"And when you see the sushi you like," Candy's Driver finished, "you grab it and eat it! The food's great, and it's so much fun."  
"It doesn't sound so fun," No. 2 said in confusion as he left. "There's not even a real train!"

The next time he was at the Workshop, No. 2 told the workman examining him about it. "How can they call it a train if there's no engine?" he asked.  
The workman laughed. "My dad's the head chef there," he said as he gave No. 2 a little polish. "I usually go up there on my break for lunch."  
Just then, the manager appeared and handed the workman his schedule for the next day. The young man looked it over before frowning. "Well that sucks," he sighed. "My break's been shortened for tomorrow because of New Year's. I won't have time to go to my dad's restaurant now."  
No. 2 wanted to make him feel better somehow, but just then, another engine appeared, and he had to head off.

For the rest of the night and into the morning, No. 2 was wondering how he could cheer the young workman up. "It'd be nice," he said to 755 as he pulled into the station, "if they made that sushi train had a branch line down here for him." 755 could only laugh as he rattled away.  
It was the middle of the afternoon as No. 2 was preparing to leave the Valley Station when suddenly, a large man ran onto the platform. In his hands were several boxes.  
"Oh, packages, sir?" said a workman nearby. "You need to head up to—"  
"Excuse me," the man interrupted, "I'm Chef Nakajima, from the sushi train restaurant. Do you know my son, Tai? He's working late here, and I would like if you could bring him his favorite lunch, and I made some extra for his friends..."  
The workman was surprised, but No. 2 was delighted. "Yes, of course!" he said. "Just put it in this cart, and I'll bring it to him as soon as I can!"

The chef loaded the cart with his bento boxes, and then thanked No. 2 and the workman before hurrying away. The still baffled workman pressed the button and No. 2 was on his way. At the next station just before the Workshop, they were unloading the carts when the little engine explained what was going on. They left one cart in him with the boxes, and sent him on his way to the workshop.  
When he arrived, the workman from before arrived. He was surprised to see No. 2 still carrying one of the mail carts. "Did they forget something?" he asked No. 2.  
"Nope," No. 2 chuckled. "Special package delivery from a real sushi train!"  
Tai opened up the cart, and inside, he found the bento boxes. In the first box was his favorite lunch, lovingly prepared along with a note from his dad.

Tai was absolutely thrilled. He shared the extra boxes of lunch with his friends, and after examining No. 2 from top to bottom, he gave the little engine an extra polish.  
No. 2 felt very proud to have helped his new friend. The workmen all thanked him, and told him that they would make Tai's dad's New Year's the best he ever had. For the rest of the evening, No. 2 rattled and sang up and down through the tunnels.  
At the Valley Station, he found out that outside, there was a big New Year's celebration going on. Candy had come to deliver passengers, and had peaked inside the tunnel for a visit. No. 2 told her about everything that had happened.  
"Well!" she chuckled with a warm smile as No. 2 prepared to leave. "Turning yourself into a sushi train to help your friend..that's quite some ingenuity!"  
No. 2 guessed that was a complement...it sounded nice enough for him!


	42. Book 10, Chapter 4

**The Quarry Ghost**

Winter came and went, and soon spring had come to the Island. This meant that the cherry blossoms would be blooming, and more people would be coming from all over the Mainland. The little post engines were busier than ever before; every day, the mail bags seemed to be getting heavier.  
No. 2 was put back on the Express service, so he got to visit the Valley Station more often than the other engines. He liked talking to the narrow gauge engines, and once even met an army jeep.  
One fine spring afternoon, a little old purple engine named Kudo puffed in with the mail vans from the harbor. He was covered in little pink cherry blossoms. No. 2 rattled in, and the two talked and joked for a while. "I love the spring," Kudo said happily. "It reminds me of the old days, with Ji Yeon."  
"Ji Yeon?" No. 2 asked. "What is that, some kind of holiday?"

"No!" Kudo laughed. "She was an old friend of mine. My old line had a quarry, where she lived and worked. She would sometimes come down to help out on my line, but she always came down in the spring."  
Kudo closed his eyes, remembering. "Oh, she loved our Cherry Blossom Special," he said fondly. "We would couple up and pull passengers right to the valley's edge, and they would sit around and have picnics under the trees. Then when they were finished, we'd pull them all the way back through the town, and stop wherever they liked.  
"But after the line closed when the war started," he continued with a frown, "her quarry was closed, but I haven't heard from her since. I hope she's doing okay."  
No. 2 couldn't find the right words to say. "I hope so too," he said quietly before he rattled back down his tunnel.

At his next visit to the workshop, he found No. 761, who was preparing to leave. He told her all about Kudo's story.  
"Quarry?" she said. "I've heard that there was a haunted quarry out there, but that's all I know."  
"Maybe if Kudo went there," No. 2 asked, "he could find Ji Yeon, or maybe a clue where she is?"  
"I don't know," 761 said, "but if you want my advice, ask anybody at the Valley Station. Maybe then you can find some real help for your friend."  
No. 2 agreed, and waited impatiently for the workmen to finish his inspection. But while he was waiting, Daichi, the military jeep, drove into the workshop through the garage entrance. He was helping delivering new parts and tools for the engines.  
"Stupid blossoms!" he coughed crossly. "I can't stand that nasty smell!"

"Hey, Daichi!" No. 2 called. "Can you do me a huge favor?"  
"Huh?" Daichi rolled up alongside No. 2. "Whatcha want, squirt?"  
No. 2 explained Kudo's story again. "Do you think," he asked as politely as he could muster, "you could drive up to the quarry and find out what happened to his friend?"  
"Ikeda Quarry?" Daichi said in surprise. "That place has been abandoned for years! And if the locals are to be believed, it's crawling with ghosts too!"  
No. 2 made such a depressed face that Daichi's Driver had to agree. "Okay, fine, I'll check it out!" Daichi said at last. "But if anything happens to me, it's on your buffers, kid."  
"But I don't have..." No. 2 was starting to say before Daichi roared away.

Daichi made his way back to the Base safely. All of the old railway lines were officially gone, and Lewis's old shed had been converted into a little maintenance shop for the jeeps. The narrow gauge engines could never understand why Daichi was so proud of this.  
He collected some extra trainee soldiers, and they drove off to the quarry. The old tunnels had been boarded up for many years, but the simple wooden boards were rotting away. After they ripped the board off the entrance, Daichi slowly drove inside. The rails beneath him were rusted and broken, and as the tunnel grew darker, he had to turn on his headlights. The soldiers weren't frightened, but Daichi was shaking from axle to windshield. Every creek and groan from the old rotting tunnel made him yelp.

Daichi didn't want to go any further, but his Driver edged him on. Before long, they drove up to what looked like a big, green tarp covering something in an old siding. Cautiously, the soldiers approached it and pulled it off, surrounding everyone in a big cloud of dust.  
And there, coughing loudly, was a long green tank engine. Her colors had faded, and many of her parts were covered in rust. She opened one eye and looked at the terrified jeep parked in front of her. "H-hello?" she whispered nervously. "W-who are you?"  
Before Daichi could reply, a familiar smell entered the tunnel. Just outside, the blossoms were in full bloom. Daichi snorted miserably at the flowery scent, but the little old engine started to smile.  
"Oh, it's spring..." she said quietly. "Does Kudo have our train ready?"

The next time No. 2 saw Kudo, he was beaming from buffer to buffer. "They found her!" he was cheering to him. "I can't believe it! They really found her!"  
"They did?" No. 2 said. "How is she?"  
"It turns out she got locked away too, just like me," Kudo explained. "But now she's being taken to the works. The Little Controller says he might even be able to improve her design! I don't know how this happened," he finished as he looked over at No. 2, "but I haven't been this happy in years."  
"Well, I'm glad to hear that, friend," No. 2 said with a kind smile, just as the workman pressed the button. Kudo whistled goodbye as his little red friend rattled away, down into the tunnels of the secret post office railway.


	43. Book 11, Chapter 1

**The Valley Railway Series**

**Book 11: Hideaki the New Engine**

* * *

_Dear Friends,_

___Our brand new engine for the Main Line, Hideaki, has finally been completed. We've all been excited to see him in steam for the very first time. Oni, the little engine who helped put him together at our Works, has been delighted too. "That big guy's going to go far on these rails," he told me. "Trust me, I know – I'm the one who built him!"_

However, Hideaki himself wasn't so sure. One bad trip to the station by the scrap yards made him wonder why the Upper Valley Railway didn't build a diesel instead of him...but thanks to some wise words from an old friend of the railway, he's doing better than ever, and he's become very proud. Maybe too proud for his own good...!  


_The Author_

_

* * *

_

**Ji Yeon's Story**

Ji Yeon, the little engine who was recently rescued, was going to the Works to be mended. The Little Controller spoke kindly to her as she was loaded by crane onto her waiting flatbed. "You're a very special engine," he said, "and we want to make sure you're working harder than ever when you come home."  
Ji Yeon beamed. "Thank you, Sir," she wheezed.  
Kudo was at the platform as he watched her be prepared to leave. He whistled loudly and Yume rang her bell. "Come back soon!" they called to her.  
At that moment, No. 12 arrived to take Ji Yeon to the Works. He buffered up behind her flatbed, and he puffed away. Ji Yeon was glad to be in front, because now she could see all around her. "My," she gasped quietly as they puffed down the line. "How much everything's changed..."  
When they at last reached the Works, No. 12 shunted her flatbed into the building. He stopped not too far from the entrance when he noticed something.

Standing at the entrance to the works was a big engine No. 12 had never seen before. He was running in the railway's green and yellow colors, and he had the number 6 on the side of his cab. He had six drive wheels, smoke deflectors, a tender, and a round tube on his front, just above his buffers.  
Oni chuffed up alongside No. 12. "Oh hey," he chirped, "are you here for my autograph? Because look at this work of art I've crafted!"  
The new engine grinned at No. 12. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said in his deep voice. "My name is Hideaki. And you are...?"  
"He doesn't have a name," Oni said. "He's got no voice either. I always wanted to try fixing that."  
Ji Yeon chucked. "I don't think you can 'fix' muteness," she said to him.

Hideaki noticed Ji Yeon. "Look at that!" he exclaimed. "Covered in all that dirt and grime... what in the world happened to you?"  
"I've been stuck in an underground tunnel for over twenty years," Ji Yeon said bluntly.  
Oni's eyes lit up. "Hey! You!" he shouted at the workmen. "We've got a new project on our hands! Get everyone in here, quickly!"  
Ji Yeon watched Oni scramble away to find workmen. "Excitable little guy, isn't he?"  
"Oh, never mind him," Hideaki said. He was fascinated by the little old engine. "Tell me about yourself."  
"With pleasure," Ji Yeon smiled. No. 12 went to take on water nearby as she began her story.

"I was first bought," she began, "to work on some railway in China. But then the line was closed before I even got there, and a nice man – he called himself a "Representative" – he stepped in and offered to take me to a different island, to help out with a new quarry. He took one look at me and told me I was perfect for the job. I couldn't turn that down.  
"So I came here, and I worked at this nice quarry near a village. There was a tramway there, and a little engine named Kudo. He was the first engine there, and he showed me around and taught me everything he knew. We became really good friends."  
She closed her eyes and chuckled. "Oh, the adventures we had," she chuckled. "I was even a hero once or twice. And every spring, Kudo and I would pull a special train together to watch the blossoms..."

"So how did you get stuck in the tunnel?" Hideaki asked.  
"Well," Ji Yeon continued as her smile faded away, "after the earthquake, my quarry was so wrecked that only one tunnel remained operable. What was left of the quarry was closed, and I went to live with Kudo on his line. The slate line had to be closed when lorries took it over, and then the village was evacuated during the war. As for me, they left me in the last quarry tunnel, and hoped I would be found again someday."  
No. 12 and Hideaki stared. "Wow, that kinda sucked for you," quipped Oni. No. 12 glared and hissed steam at him.  
"How'd you manage to stay around for so long?" Hideaki asked.  
"I'm not sure," she sighed. "I just closed my eyes and kind of... dreamed. I thought of all the better days, and hoped I would be a Really Useful Engine again, someday."

"Really Useful?" Hideaki asked. He had only heard the words shared between the workmen, but nobody had explained what they meant.  
"That's when an engine works hard, is reliable, and helps around wherever they're needed," Ji Yeon said with a smile. "It means you're dependable and make sure the railway is a better, happier, and easier place for everybody."  
"There's nothing better than being called Really Useful!" Oni chimed in. "Trust me, my old owners at the brewery never called me that, and I got sent here to work instead!"  
Hideaki was shocked. "They send you away if you're not useful?" he asked.  
No. 12 hissed steam at Oni. "What?" he yelped. "That's what happened!"

Before Ji Yeon could clarify what Oni was trying to say, the workmen arrived. "Come along, old girl," they told her. "We're going to make you as good as new!"  
Ji Yeon looked over to Hideaki. "Don't worry," she said kindly. "We'll talk more tomorrow about it."  
But that never came. While Ji Yeon was being examined, the Big Controller arrived. "We're taking you to our sheds for the night," he said. "Tomorrow, you're going to learn the Main Line."  
No. 12 coupled up and pulled Hideaki away from the works. When they arrived at the shed, Hideaki was shunted aside, and No. 12 scrambled off to do other work he was already late for.  
Hideaki looked nervously around in the shed. He was excited about tomorrow, but Ji Yeon's story and Oni's words echoed in his mind.


	44. Book 11, Chapter 2

**First Day Blues**

The next morning, Hideaki was feeling much better after being put in steam. He sizzled happily while he watched the other engines getting prepared around him. He met No. 12's friend Misaki, who introduced him to the other steam engines: Naomi, Morning Light, and Ryu were pleased to meet him.  
As No. 12 was going to help out on Naomi's branch line for a few days, Misaki took Hideaki to the Main Station to take his very first train. "You'll double-head it with Ryu," she explained. "He knows the line better than anyone."  
"I know I do," Ryu chuffed proudly as he pulled in alongside them.  
Misaki rolled her eyes. "Hey," she said sternly, "this isn't the time to be showing off. He's only just joined, you know."  
"Okay, fine," Ryu chuckled. "Now quit busting my buffers!"  
A little red engine named Katsu arranged the heavy coaches. Ryu was coupled up first, and he ordered Hideaki to couple in front of him. "You can't learn the line with my tender in your face, right?" Ryu laughed.

The guard blew his whistle, and the two engines slowly set off. Before too long, they were out on the open line. "Here," Ryu called out, "is where we sprint!"  
Hideaki whistled in reply, and started to puff faster and faster. Ryu sped up as well, but Hideaki was going so fast now that he started to pull at Ryu's weight as well. "Whoa, careful!" he shouted. "You're already going faster than me!"  
Hideaki blushed. "Sorry!" he replied as his Driver checked his speed. The rest of the journey was less eventful, though Hideaki couldn't help but love the sights and sounds. They passed the Works, puffed through the Valley Station, and were soon crossing the bridge to the other Island.  
"We're near Keikan," Ryu explained. "It's where Twelve and I used to live. We had another friend there, Hiro, but he's gone now."

"Gone?" Hideaki felt nervous. "He was sent away?"  
"Yep," Ryu said. "We were being replaced, so Twelve and I were bought, but Hiro was shipped to another island...some place called Sodor. It was a shame to see him go. Man, he was the most useful engine out of all of us!"  
Hideaki's heart sank. The two engines soon pulled into the Station, and the passengers got off for the train to the Mainland.  
While Ryu went off to take on water, Hideaki noticed three square engines watching him from the siding. They were black with yellow stripes, and each had four yellow wheels and a cab in their middle. None of them looked like steam engines at all. Hideaki gulped and looked away.  
But just as he did so, he heard the three of them rumbled up alongside him. "Well, what do we have here?" cooed the one in front, a devious smile on her face. "Another one for the scrap heap?"

"Feh," snarled the second one, licking at his gold fang, "he looks too new to be scrap metal. Wanna try anyway?"  
The third one stared dumbly at Hideaki. "But," he said slowly, "I thought boss said we can't without permission..."  
"You always listen to what everyone tells you?" the second engine snapped. "Now stop being stupid and help us move this smoke-spouting nuisance."  
But before they could, another bigger engine slid in. He was black too, but with bright orange stripes and twelve wheels. "Shoot," the first engine whispered. "Raiden won't want us messing around here." And she backed up, the other two engines rolling away with her.  
They were gone once Raiden stopped beside Hideaki. "Sorry about that lot," he said coolly. "The Scrap Shunters aren't too fond of visitors, you can see."  
"Y-yeah..." Hideaki agreed. The three engines were worrisome, but this new engine was even more intimidating.

"The name's Raiden," he said politely. "I'm the biggest and strongest around here. What brings you to our humble home?"  
"Just...work," Hideaki said quietly. "Would you know anything about an engine named Hiro?"  
"Oh, him?" Raiden said with a frown. "He's not here anymore. They sent him away years ago. He was replaced by diesels. Newer, better technology that makes steam engines Really Useless. You know what diesels are... like me."  
Raiden rolled away laughing, leaving Hideaki with a look of horror on his smokebox. When Ryu arrived for the return journey, he couldn't understand why Hideaki was being so quiet.  
The return journey was awful. While Hideaki was going beautifully on the first run, on the way back, he was struggling to get back into steam. When Ryu called out to get him to speed up, Hideaki would jump nervously and speed up, but only slow down again minutes later.

The ride was bumpy and uncomfortable for the passengers. When they arrived at the Valley Station, they all complained to the Stationmaster, and then promptly to Hideaki. The big new engine could have never felt smaller or sadder.  
He puffed into a siding, leaving Ryu to take the next train on his own. "Hey man, don't worry," he said. "It's probably first day blues. You'll do better in no time." And he hurried off with his train.  
Hideaki rested before a workman came along. "Could you take these goods down to the branch line for us?" he asked. "Our usual engine's busy today."  
"We'll do our best," the Driver said before Hideaki could protest. He was soon coupled to a small train of stone trucks, and he puffed down the line. He was still going sporadic with his puffing and his Driver was frustrated. "Come on!" he called out. "What's the matter with you?"

Luckily, Hideaki managed to arrive at the Main Station on time. Katsu was surprised to see him. "I thought you were going to work with Ryu today," he said curiously.  
"I was," Hideaki said quietly. "But we went to this one station over the bridge, and...well...it's silly, it's not worth talking about."  
Katsu frowned. "Oh," he said. "I guess you met the engines over there."  
Hideaki blinked. "You know them?" he said.  
"Met Ryu when he came here. Met the other three by accident. Look, Twelve knows a guy who can help you out. Ask him about it."  
"Uh, thanks..." Hideaki said, but Katsu was already gone to arrange Morning Light's train.


	45. Book 11, Chapter 3

**Shane and the Diesel Engine**

No. 12 arrived to collect the stone trucks, and Hideaki explained what Katsu had said. No. 12 smiled and tooted at him. He coupled up to the trucks and puffed down the line, whistling.  
"Does he want us to follow him?" Hideaki asked his Driver. He slowly puffed onto the branch line, and was soon right behind No. 12.  
The rails and ground groaned under the big engine. "Whoa," he gulped before calling out to No. 12. "Hey listen, I don't think the rails can take my weight, maybe we should—"  
But No. 12 only went faster and plunged into a dark, curved tunnel. Hideaki sighed and followed right behind him. The curve and slope weren't too difficult for him, but his Driver and Fireman complained dreadfully about the smoke.  
When they emerged from the tunnel. No. 12 was already a long way ahead. Hideaki did his best to catch up with him.

They finally came to a stop at a yard surrounded by trees and wooden buildings. No. 12 shunted the trucks away into a siding before puffing toward a siding obscured by logs. He tooted loudly.  
"Oh, s'at you, Twelve?" came a wheezing voice. "Wha's th' trouble?"  
Hideaki soon heard a loud clanking sound, and from behind the logs emerged a strange and crooked engine. His boiler was on the left side of his frame, and his right side had three cylinders sticking downward. He was painted brown with black stripes, had a long tube next to his smokebox, a wide funnel, and had what looked like both a bunker and a tender.  
"So yer the new 'un?" he said as he eyed Hideaki. "Pleased ter meet yeh. Th' name's Shane."  
"That's... not a very Japanese name," Hideaki said.  
"Well I ain't a very Japanese engine!" Shane laughed. "Us Shay types were mostly built in th' States, but we've been all o'er the world."

No. 12 went to organize some trucks while Hideaki and Shane talked. "So what do you do?" Hideaki asked.  
"I'm a loggin' engine," Shane said proudly. "Since th' day Ah was built, Ah've been puffin' up these slopes better than any other engine. Ah'm proud of what Ah do. Ah musta come here...uh... a good sixty years ago or so."  
"Sixty years? You've been useful for that long?" Hideaki said.  
Shane chuckled. "Ah got the feelin' you met some of them Keikan diesels, right? Nasty lot, they are. Always discouragin' and bullyin'."  
Hideaki stared down at the ground. "Exactly," he sighed.  
"One o' them crept into here once," Shane remembered. "Mari, her name was. Small an' black, an' had a frightenin'ly calm smile. There's a monster under tha' smile o' hers."  
Shane paused to think. "She was jus' comin' for a test run, and Ah wasn' up ter speed. Ah remember the firs' thin' she said when she saw me, it was 'Ol' man, yeh better make th' best o' what you got. Ye'll be in th' scrap heap sooner o' later'."

"What'd you do?"  
"Ah just ignored her. Thought she'd get tired o' it soon. But lo, she didn't!" Shane gave a wheezing laugh. "She said all that but she couldn't climb th' line worth a darn withou' me. She didn' get it, but Ah did. 'Wait a while,' Ah told mahself. 'She'll figure it out.'  
"It came t' a head one mornin'. I was havin' a pain of a time getting' in steam, so she thought she could take th' trucks up th' slope withou' me. An' jus' ter show off, she took some extra more. Ah tried ter warn 'er, but she wouldn' listen.  
"So up she went with the trucks, and she's halfway up before she finally figures what Ah've been tellin' her. She can't move a wheel and the trucks are tired o' her. So they start to pull 'er back down the line.  
"So Ah'm ready to get goin' when there she comes backwards inter the yard. She stops, but her trucks go flyin'! None got hurt, glad ter say, but it was a big ol' mess."  
Hideaki tried to imagine Mari running backwards down a hill, and couldn't help but laugh.

"S'like wha' Ah was tryin' to tell 'er th' whole time," Shane chuckled. "We all got a different purpose."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Wha' Ah mean is," Shane explained, "We're all built t' do differen' stuff. She was built t' shunt in yards. Ah'm built to pull heavy stuff through forests. Ye'r built to pull goods an' people, from what Ah can see. Ah'm too slow an' ckunky to go on th' Main Line. But Ah'm happy with what Ah do."  
"But that big diesel, Raiden," Hideaki said, "he said steam engines are useless nowadays."  
Shane burst into a loud wheezing laugh. "Is tha' wha' he said? He's still got loads t' learn. All big an' tough an' not one friend t' name."  
Just then, No. 12 whistled loudly. "Ahh boy," Shane said, "the train's ready. Y'all should be makin' yer way back home soon."

Hideaki and No. 12 were soon coupled to their lumber trains. "What should I do," Hideaki asked Shane, "if I hear from those diesels again?"  
Shane grinned. "Jus' 'member this 'bout Raiden," he chuffed. "Tha' big ol' brute gives up after th' first wrong thin' happens on his train. We steamers, we keep goin', we always keep goin', even on one cylinder. As long as there are rails, there'll be steam. Don' forget that, kid."  
Hideaki said "goodbye" and "thank you" to Shane, and he was soon steaming along with No. 12 to the good yard. They shunted the trucks neatly into the siding, where Misaki would take them away the following day.

It was pitch black outside when they made their way back to the Sheds to rest, only to find that Morning Light was mysteriously absent. But waiting for Hideaki was the Big Controller, looking worried.  
"I know today wasn't the best, but we need your help tomorrow," he said sternly. "Morning Light's gone in early for his examination, and we need an engine to take his Express in the morning. Do you think you can do it?"  
Hideaki glanced at No. 12, who could only smile back at him. Hideaki took a deep breath. "Yes, Sir," he said with a grin. "I know I can do it."


	46. Book 11, Chapter 4

**Stopping Sunrise**

Morning finally came. Even though it was spring, Hideaki was taken by surprise when he felt a chill flow through the shed doors. His Driver and Fireman arrived wearing scarves. "It'll warm up by noon, hopefully," they told him. The Firelighter had come early, and Hideaki was sizzling happily.  
"No cold air's gonna break my good mood," he said boldly.  
His Driver was astonished. "A big difference from yesterday, isn't it?" he whispered to the Fireman.  
He puffed into the station to get plenty of water and coal before making his way to Keikan. Katsu was there, preparing another train. "Watch yourself," he advised. "The Sunlight Express isn't any ordinary train."  
Hideaki smiled. "I'll be fine," he said. "Don't worry about it at all. I'll be back here early."  
Katsu laughed. "From a worry-wheels to a big shot, and in one day! Now I've seen everything!"

Before long, Hideaki was off. His Driver decided to go through the valley line to save time. It was Hideaki's first time, and he was amazed. Seeing the sun rising over the valley was a wonderful sight indeed.  
On the line below, a little blue narrow gauge engine was puffing along, and it tooted cheerfully up at Hideaki. The big engine was delighted, and in return, he blew the longest and loudest whistle he had ever blown.  
They passed the Valley Station and were soon puffing over the long bridge to Keikan. The closer they got, the more courage Hideaki tried to muster. "They're not getting to me today," he said confidently. "I'll show them how useful I can be."  
"That's the spirit!" the Fireman called out proudly.

Hideaki finished the journey safely and arrived at the station. The big blue coaches were waiting on the platform. Passengers were everywhere as they exchanged their morning train from one of the Mainland's trains.  
As Hideaki went onto the turntable, he noticed Raiden and the small diesels eying him from the corner of the yard. Remembering what Shane had said, Hideaki ignored Raiden as the big diesel crept alongside. "Pulling the Express today, are you?" he asked with a sly smile.  
Hideaki glanced over. "Why do you ask?"  
"No reason." Raiden rolled away backwards. "Mari! Kenji! Toki! Get my train ready!" he barked at the three shunters as he vanished from view.  
Hideaki's turntable stopped, and he puffed off to find his train. "That diesel's up to no good," his Driver said. "Why won't he just leave us alone?"

Hideaki made his way to the platform, where the coaches were filled and ready to go. He was coupled to the train, and the Guard walked up and down the train. They were about to go when they heard a loud groaning sound. There was Raiden, slowly pulling a long line of trucks. He rolled right over the points in front of Hideaki.  
"What in the world?" Hideaki said. "HEY! What do you think you're doing?"  
"Just moving some trucks!" Raiden called back. "Don't worry, I'll be—" He never finished. Just as the last truck rolled onto Hideaki's line, there was a loud crack, and Raiden ground to a halt. "Whoops," he muttered with a smirk, "seems like I'm broken down!"  
Hideaki was furious. "That jerk!" he snorted. "He's deliberately trying to delay me!"  
The passengers were growing anxious. Hideaki's Driver and Fireman began to plan.

"Should we just shunt him off into a siding?" the Driver asked.  
"Some of those trucks are meant for us," the Fireman observed. "Those can't be delayed either."  
"Why not push him all the way there?" Hideaki asked.  
His Driver and Fireman stared. "Push a diesel and his train while pulling yours? Are you sure you can handle that?"  
"Of course! This kind of work is what I'm built for, isn't it?" Hideaki said proudly.  
The crew discussed the plan with the Stationmaster, who went off to make some phone calls. He returned shortly. "Get as far as the Valley Station," he said. "Ryu will be able to take over from there."  
They got Hideaki coupled to Raiden's train. Meanwhile, the Stationmaster ordered the three diesels to help by pushing behind. They were reluctant, but when he threatened to tell their Controller about what had happened, they quickly buffered up behind Hideaki's train.

"Are you ready?" Hideaki's Driver called out. "One...two...three... HEAVE!"  
Slowly and gradually, the cavalcade began to move. Hideaki pulled and pushed as hard as he could, and the three diesels behind him gave a mighty effort as well. Soon the train was running nicely, and they were crossing the bridge back to the Island. The diesels stopped to go back, letting Hideaki take the rest of the train on his own.  
As he puffed along, he passed lots of his new friends. They were amazed at the sight and cheered him on. Hideaki wanted to whistle back to them, but he had no more spare steam; he could feel the weight of Raiden and his train start to slow him down.  
They arrived at the Valley Station just as Ryu was pulling in. "Well look at that, you're early!" he said in amazement. "Hiro would've been proud!"  
Raiden hissed furiously when he heard that.  
Hideaki shunted him aside and took the diesel's goods, while Ryu took over the Express. A little yellow narrow gauge engine congratulated Hideaki before she ran off to tell the others what she had just seen.

By the end of the day, everyone had heard Hideaki's story, and the Big Controller came to thank him personally for his effort. Hideaki was delighted to be called a "Really Useful Engine" for the very first time.  
"Now I won't get sent away!" he cheered triumphantly. "Wait until I tell Oni about this!"  
He now shares the Sunlight Express duties with Morning Light, who has been teaching him a little bit more every day. "He's diligent," he tells the others. "But I think it's all gone to his smokebox. He just doesn't stop talking about himself now!"  
Even Ryu has grumbled about Hideaki's new attitude...and coming from Ryu, that's saying something.  
But all the engines do agree that despite Hideaki's new proud and boastful nature, he's one of the family, and a Really Useful Engine.


	47. Bonus: Legacy, Part 1

**The Legacy of Ji Yeon**

**Written by: GeebMachine**

**Adapted by: Nanaki**

**Part 1: The Terrible Yao**

It was a wonderful time of the year for the narrow gauge engines. Ji Yeon, an engine who had been lost during the War, was finally found hidden away in an old quarry, where she had once worked. The Little Controller was very pleased, and it wasn't long before No. 12, one of the Big Engines, was carrying her away to the Works to be mended.  
Kudo, who had been her best friend for many years, had told her stories to all of the other engines on the narrow gauge railway. Only Joel, who lived at the coal mine, had never heard of her. But other passing engines kept mentioning her until he finally decided to find out for himself.  
One night, he made his way to the main sheds, where the rest of the little engines were preparing for the night's rest. Joel had convinced his Driver to let him stay there for the night.  
"I gotta know," he said as he rattled alongside Edward Mann, "who is this Ji Yeon supposed to be?"  
"You're just in time!" Smudger chuckled. "Kudo was just about to tell us about when she came to the Island."  
As Joel's driver shut his engine off, Kudo began his story.

Ji Yeon was originally meant to go to a Chinese railway. But at the last minute, they announced another engine had arrived, and they would not need her. Luckily, Kudo's Controller heard about her, and ordered her to come work at the quarry near the village tram line.  
When Ji Yeon arrived, Kudo was surprised at how quickly she adapted. The workmen were untrusting of her at first, but she proved herself to be a very reliable engine. Kudo, who sometimes helped out at the quarry, was surprised at how little he had to teach her.  
Even though the quarrymen would sometimes get frustrated and angry, Ji Yeon always seemed to be calm and collected. It wasn't long before she and Kudo were the best of friends. He even invited her down to the village when he wasn't feeling well, and she would pull his trains in his place.

One of the village farmers owned an imported tractor named Yao. He was grumpy and angry all the time; his owner had never built him a shed, so he was always outside in the heat. He loathed and hated everything he could think of, especially the noisy trains passing through the village. "BAH!" he would snort when they passed. "Who needs those rail-kettles anyway?"  
Kudo had to deal with Yao for years, and learned it was best to simply avoid him, as he never bothered to listen to anybody. But Ji Yeon was a different case. One day, she and Kudo were preparing to take supplies up to the new slate mine station when Yao crawled over to them.  
"Don't you lot get your bunkers thrown off the rails or anything," he grunted. "Or better yet, grow some proper wheels and get on the road."  
"Excuse me," Ji Yeon said. "Could you go back to whatever it was you were doing? We're busy doing important work."  
Ji Yeon had only wanted him to stop harassing them, but Yao was so offended that he let out a big burst of smoke all over the two engines, coating them in black ash. "The last thing I need is to be insulted by the likes of YOU!" he spat as he chuffed away.

Their Drivers looked them over and cleaned some of the dirt away. "You'll get used to it," Kudo sighed grimly. "He's kind of a load on the buffers."  
As the train moved down toward the new station, Ji Yeon began to think. "You know," she said quietly, "maybe if he just had a real friend, he wouldn't be such a crank."  
Kudo could only smile sympathetically. He knew Ji Yeon meant well, but to him, Yao was a lost cause. "You can go head and try, if you'd like," he said to her. "I've tried over a hundred times."  
"Well maybe," she said with a coy smile, "the hundred-and-first time will be lucky."  
She tried again later that evening. Kudo was resting when she finally crawled back to the shed, covered in even more dirt and soot than before, complements of Yao. Kudo tried his best not to laugh.  
"I've changed my mind," she coughed, "maybe the hundred-and-second."  
For the next few days, Ji Yeon made sure she was kind, polite, and reliable wherever she was needed. Yao would watch her with daggers in his eyes. Whenever she tried to talk to him, however, he would cover her in his dirt and rumble away. Ji Yeon tried not to get too downhearted.

The new slate mine hadn't been opened yet, but within the next 20 years, twin engines named Tyler and Candy would be working there, and the line between the station and the village would be closed off. Ji Yeon, Kudo, and other engines from the village were helping bring supplies and equipment to the station.  
The platform met the Big Railway where a boxy engine, named Takao, was working to build the railway. There were also some other Russian engines that none of the narrow gauge engines ever met, but Takao was good friends with them.  
One evening, Ji Yeon and Kudo had finished arranging some trucks into a siding. They were about to make their way home, when the foreman walked up. "Farmer Tanaka came to deliver our lunch," he told them, "but his traction engine broke down on the level crossing. We must clear the line before the next train comes."  
The two engines collected some workmen in a brake van, and hurried to the crossing. When they arrived, Yao was spewing thick black smoke into the air. The workmen did everything they could think of, but Yao stayed right where he was.

Just then, they all heard a loud whistle. Coming down the line straight toward Yao was one of the big Russian engines with a goods train. They could see the engine could never stop in time. Yao began to panic. "What are you all standing around for?" he bellowed. "Somebody get me out of here!"  
The workmen scrambled all around and tried to push, but Yao simply wouldn't budge. That was when Ji Yeon came up with an idea. "Quick!" she shouted to the men. "Tie him to me!"  
The men wasted no time connecting Ji Yeon to Yao, and Kudo coupled up behind her. Together, the two engines, puffing hard, began to pull Yao back.  
The Russian engine blasted its whistle. They could hear the brakes screeching as it came closer and closer. Yao screamed and shut his eyes. Ji Yeon and Kudo took a deep breath and, with one mighty puff, they pulled Yao clear of the level crossing just in time. The Russian engine, brakes still screaming, missed the terrified traction engine by mere inches as it shot over the crossing and ground to a halt a few yards away.

All of the workmen cheered and thanked the two engines, and even the big engine's Driver and Fireman stepped out to thank Ji Yeon and her crew before heading on their way. With Yao now safely out of the way, the men began to examine him properly and find the problem.  
When evening came, Kudo took the tired men back to the village. Yao was loaded onto a flatbed, and Ji Yeon took him back to his home. It took a while before the traction engine finally spoke.  
"I can't think of why you'd try to save me," he said quietly, "even after how terribly I treated you."  
"It's nothing," Ji Yeon replied with a kind smile. "We may be different, but we work together. We should watch each other's backs, right?"  
Yao looked ashamed of himself. "I can't thank you enough," he sighed. "Look... do you think maybe we could start over, and try being friends?"  
Ji Yeon was only too happy to agree. That night in the shed, she pulled up along Kudo with a broad smile. "One hundred twenty one was the lucky one," she chuckled.


	48. Bonus: Legacy, Part 2

**Part 2: Engines & Earthquakes**

The following morning, all of the engines went off to work, except for Joel and Candy. The little yellow engine was having trouble get up to steam.  
"You're due to visit the Works soon," her Driver said grimly. "You're not like you used to be."  
"I'm kind of looking forward to it," Candy chuckled. "Then maybe I'll get a chance to talk to Ji Yeon. I haven't seen her since the Great Earthquake."  
Joel glanced over. "Earthquake?" he asked.  
"Oh," Candy said, "you weren't on this side of the Island when it happened, were you? It was a good ten years before the war..."

Back when the slate mine had first opened, it was connected to Kudo's tramway to help speed the transportation of slate to the coast. Around the year of the Earthquake, slate was in high demand, so the tramway's Controller allowed Ji Yeon to work in the slate mine with Candy and her brother, Tyler. Kudo never went; the slate dust bothered him, and he had to help keep the tramway going after most of the other engines were sent away.  
Candy was only getting used to it, but Ji Yeon handled the work easily. To her, it was no different from her quarry. Tyler, the reckless and daring of the two slate engines, was always trying to outdo Ji Yeon. "Ow! Ow! OW!" the trucks would cry as he bashed them into line.  
"Nothing to it," he said to her one day. "I can't figure out why you always go so slow."  
Candy rolled her eyes and puffed off with the trucks. "Ugh," she sighed. "What an idiot."  
"You have to be more careful," Ji Yeon scolded. "Mining is tough work, and you can't just rush around like that."  
"Oh, what's the worst that could happen?" laughed Tyler.

He found out a few weeks later.  
Candy was in a deeper tunnel in the mine, and Tyler was with Ji Yeon near the entrance. Both engines were having a well-earned rest. Ji Yeon smiled and closed her eyes, letting the sound of the work around her help her to fall into sleep. She felt relaxed and peaceful.  
Her sleep was interrupted when she felt the earth beneath her begin to shake. She didn't think much of it at first, but then it grew more and more intense. The sounds of rocks and falling rubble surrounded her. She heard a loud whistle from one of the tunnels before it was silenced by a terrifying crunch.  
"EARTHQUAKE!" yelled the Foreman at the top of his lungs. "EVERYONE! GET OUT OF HERE!"  
Panicking workmen scrambled to the mine entrance. Ji Yeon and Tyler were about to leave. Then Tyler remembered something. "SHOOT! CANDY!" he cried out, looking at the tracks behind him. "I GOTTA GO GET HER!"

Ji Yeon was horrified. "Tyler, wait-!" she screamed, puffing away to the mine entrance. The rails beneath her buckled and she violently bounced off, her wheels digging into the ground. She glanced over to see Tyler vanish from view just as the tunnel where they were resting vanished under smoke and rubble.  
Her Driver and Fireman ran away too. Ji Yeon shut her eyes and waited for it to all be over. A few minutes passed before the shaking finally came to a stop.  
Kudo came immediately with as many workmen as his coaches could carry. "We have to check for survivors," the Foreman said grimly.  
The Driver and Fireman returned to look Ji Yeon over, to make sure she wasn't hurt. "I'm fine," she coughed. "I feel bruised, but I'm fine."  
They backed her up on the line. She passed a tunnel opening, and inside, much to her horror, was Yao burried under rocks, surrounded by smoke. She tried her best not to scream.

She found the tunnel where she last saw Tyler. "He's in there, somewhere," she said. "We have to rescue him."  
The Foreman and rescue crew looked all over. "It's far too risky," they said at last.  
"But what about his crew?" Ji Yeon added. "And Candy's too?"  
The men all glanced nervously at each other, and talked amongst themselves. "We'll do it," they said at last, "but if we fail, they'll be done for."  
And so the daunting work began. Inch by inch, they moved away the rubble, and Ji Yeon pushed her way down the line. "Steady, old girl," her Driver said. "We'll have them out soon."  
It felt like ages before they finally found them. Much to their relief, both engines were safe, but Candy was furious at Tyler. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" she was yelling at him. "YOU COULD HAVE HURT YOURSELF! IDIOT!"  
Ji Yeon could only laugh as she helped the two engines outside.

The yard outside was in even worse shape. Building and trees had fallen over, rails were bent and broken, and even the station platform looked like it was about to crumble.  
Yao had been recovered, and what remained of him was loaded onto a truck to be brought to the works. Ji Yeon and Kudo could barely look.  
Their Controller had, thankfully, survived and was there to thank the engines for their quick action. "Now we need to help at the village and quarry," he said sternly. "We're lucky that neither of you or your crews got hurt. Count your blessings, understand?"  
But when they made their way through the village and to the quarry, Ji Yeon's heart sank. Save for the entrance tunnel, almost every part of her former home was destroyed. For Kudo, this was the first time he had ever seen Ji Yeon cry.

"So Tyler and I went back to work in our mine a few weeks later," Candy said as she finished her story. "Ji Yeon's quarry was shut down though. Kudo's railway took her in, and she lived and worked with him until the line closed up. And I guess we know the rest, right?" she chuckled.  
Joel was astonished. "I wonder what other stories she has to share..." he said to himself.  
"I'm just glad she's safe and sound," Candy smiled. "I've never seen Kudo this happy and alive before."  
Just then, her Driver spoke. "Looks like you're all fired up now," he said. "Let's get to work."  
Candy began to puff away. "Goodbye, Joel!" she called out.  
Joel tooted in reply, and collected some trucks to bring to the coal mine. As he rumbled through the valley, he imagined Kudo and Ji Yeon puffing proudly down the line, their Cherry Blossom Special in tow.  
"That'll be a sight to see," he said happily to himself.


	49. VRS: Battle for the Mountain

**The Valley Railway Series**

_**Battle for the Mountain**_

_**

* * *

**_

_Dear Friends,_

__

Today, Tanishima's highest mountain, Mount Saiji, is one of the island's biggest tourist attractions. It's part of the Upper Valley Railway, and there's a fantastic rack railway too. People come for around the world to see the beautiful view from the peek.

But it wasn't always like this.

Many years ago, the line leading to the mountain was destroyed in an earthquake, and the new line leading into the mountain was so dangerous and hazardous that trains were extremely rare. Virtually all hope of going back into the mountain range was gone. But one year, they were allowed to rebuild the old line... better and stronger than ever before.

All of the engines worked their hardest on it, and the Big Controller even brought in a new diesel engine to help. The engines all wanted to tell me what adventures happened next, so I made sure to document as much as I could about their stories. I wanted to learn No. 12's side of the story, but as he can't speak, I ended up asking his old Driver, Fireman, and his best friend Misaki.

Her story amazed me. She knew far more about No. 12 than any of the other engines. "I'm glad he made a name for himself," Misaki told me after with a bit of pride. "We really couldn't have done it without him."

After hearing everyone's side of the story, I compiled them all up into one long story. I hope you all enjoy reading one of Tanishima's biggest adventures!

_- The Author_


	50. Battle for the Mountain: Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The tale of what happened on the tallest mountain on all of the island of Tanishima begins, as many stories do, with something of only good intention. What began as a project to help others would ultimately become a monster's idea of a prize for its ruin and terror it had come to spread. What followed was an adventure of one soul's determination to rid their beloved home of this beast, and re-earn the trust and companionship of their closest friends. And all of this originated, as many of the great stories do, from something so small and humble that it easily be overlooked of its sheer importance: a letter.  
It was neatly stamped and addressed to the man known as Jiro Saenagi, the Controller of the Upper Valley Railway. Both sides of the letter had the word "URGENT" written in big red text, in plain English, while the rest of the letter was written in Japanese. This letter sat on top of a sack of letters and parcels, which sat neatly in a small cart. This cart was on top of a small electric locomotive rushing through dark underground tunnels at over thirty miles per hour.  
The little engine didn't stop once until it finally reached the very end of the line. With a loud clanking and a hiss, it came to a stop by the station, and the workmen waiting nearby began to remove the carts. One man opened the first cart and found the letter staring back at him. He blinked and picked it up, looking it over before turning toward another locomotive and its train nearby. This was a smart blue steam engine of the narrow gauge, with dark red stripes and a long train of red vans behind it. It was about to leave when the workman ran up to speak to the engine's Driver, who promised to give it to its rightful owner as soon as he could.  
The little engine slowly pulled out of the tunnel and through the station that housed it, which was big and elaborate to house all three of the railways: the standard gauge Upper Valley Railway, the narrow gauge Lower Valley Railway, and one of the many stations of the Tanishima Post Office Railway. The little blue engine puffed quickly out of the station, and along the way, it passed an abandoned quarry, a military base in the middle of reconstruction, and a coal mine. It rushed into a tunnel and was soon passing through the island's famous Saenagi Valley. The summer was over, and the green grass and trees were turning brown. Even so, there was not a single more beautiful sight on the entire island.  
Leaving the valley, the little blue engine puffed past a farming village, rumbled through a yard with other engines, trucks, and coaches, along the coast, and finally came to a stop at Oshiro Station. This was the main station at the end of the narrow gauge line that connected to the standard gauge line. The little engine pulled to a stop at the platform. The Driver emerged from the cab just as the famous train, the Sunrise Express, rattled through with a whistle and a roar. The large, green engine and its rich blue coaches thundered away down the line leading to the coast, and vanished from view. The Driver walked on the path over the railway tracks until he made his way to the offices on the other side of the station. He spoke to the Stationmaster, who took the letter and walked into the building.  
He reemerged with Mr. Saenagi, who read the letter over, beaming from ear to ear. He was tall and smartly dressed. He had short black hair and wide-frame glasses. As he finished reading the letter, a different tank engine arrived on the platform. The engine had six big wheels with four smaller ones; two in the front, two in the back. It had it was painted black all over and had two domes, gold boiler bands, and the number twelve painted on the side of its boxy, slanted side tanks.  
Mr. Saenagi climbed into the engine's cab, and they were off. The engine made its way onto the nearby branch line. It passed little houses and stations, and whistled to all of the people and children waving. The engine came to a dark, curved tunnel, one that was loathed by the Drivers and Fireman of the railway. But this engine didn't stop; it just kept going through the tunnel, hissing and clanking. It emerged from the other end and puffed along a line surrounded by tall, red Jobi trees, These tall, strong trees were used to build all sorts of things, and as Tanishima was one of the only places in the world that had these trees, they made for a very profitable export.  
The little engine finally made its way to the Jobi Lumber Yard, and stopped by a wooden shack. Mr. Saenagi hopped off the footplate and walked inside the building, to talk to the foreman about what the letter contained. And meanwhile, the little engine puffed away from the building, and down a quiet, disused line. In a clearing, there was the perfect view of Mount Saiji, which towered over the lakes and countryside, flourishing with life and beauty. From where the engine stood, there was no better view of the mountain anywhere on the island.  
The little engine had heard what the letter said, and he was growing more and more excited thinking about it. Looking out toward the mountain, he blew the loudest whistle he could.

Mr. Saenagi, known as the Big Controller among the engines of his Railway, had ordered that all of his engines meet at the main sheds that evening, as soon as their work was done. He even requested the presence of Takao, the first and oldest engine who built the first lines, from one end of the island to the other.  
The engines gathered around the turntable, all pondering why the Big Controller had ordered them there. Near the entrance to the shed was Misaki, the big tank engine who had brought Takao from the museum. Like the others, she was a rich green with bright yellow stripes. She had long tanks, six big wheels, and a squat funnel. "Where's Twelve?" she asked the others. "It's not like him to be late."  
"He's picking up the Big Controller, remember?" came the reply of Hideaki, the newest and biggest engine in the shed. "The meeting won't start until he gets here."  
"He'd best hurry," grunted a much, much smaller engine named Katsu. Unlike the rest of the engines, he was painted crimson red with black stripes. He was short with big yellow bufferbeams, and a barely noticeable funnel. "I've got work to do. I can't wait here all evening."  
"We're lucky we even found the time to get together like this," Morning Light put in. He was the most unusual of the engines; he was long and rectangular with a cab on each end, and didn't look at all like a steam engine. "It's been so busy around here, I haven't seen Naomi or Sora in ages."  
Beside him were the two very engines. Naomi was a small engine, but connected to the back of her cab was a long, blue coach. Sora was the yellow railbus by her side. He was much smaller, and coughed at all of the steam engine's smoke.  
"He's right," Naomi said. "It's wonderful to see everyone again. And I don't believe I've been properly introduced to Hideaki here, have I?"  
"Me either," Sora added. "When in the world did you get here?"  
"You mean you haven't heard of when I hauled the Express and pushed Raiden and his train?" Hideaki said, astonished. "I thought everyone had heard by now!"  
"They haven't," chuckled Ryu, the other big engine. He had been around much longer than Hideaki, and once had an even worse attitude. "You're not the biggest thing on wheels just yet. That's my job, remember"  
"If you all would like," Takao wheezed, "before we all leave, how about I share a story they told me at the museum?"  
"Sounds good to me," Misaki smiled. "Any objectors?"  
"Well..." Hideaki thought out loud. "I'd like to get to know Takao better, I suppose."  
Just as he finished, they heard a whistle as Number 12 finally arrived to the sheds. In his cab was the Big Controller, holding a letter in his hand. "I'm glad you all could make it," he said as he climbed out of No. 12's cab. "Listen, I've got some very exciting news. Do any of you remember when the railway ran to the west side of the island?"  
The engines glanced at each other. "I do," Takao mentioned. "There were some Russian engines working that line, right?"  
"Precisely so," the Big Controller replied. "The railway lines leading there were long gone, after the earthquake in 1923. The land wasn't stable enough for new tracks. And due to some...unreasonable policies put in from the Mainland, we haven't been able to use the land surrounding the mountain. We tried building the Ice Line to get around that problem... and what an awful mistake that was.  
"However," he went on, glancing at the letter, "I've received word that those old policies have, at long last, been abandoned, and we can now freely build a new branch line through the mountain range. The Mainland will help with the funding, so you must all work your hardest and be on your best behavior."  
The engines were thrilled with this news. They whistled and tooted so loudly that the Big Controller had to cover his ears and hush them!  
"As you have probably guessed," he went on, "that means we're going to be busy through the fall and winter. I wanted to find help, but we still don't trust Keikan Island's diesels..." He cleared his throat. "A works yard in Europe has been putting together an interesting new diesel, and they need to put him through plenty of test runs. So, I've decided to bring him here to fill in wherever he is needed."  
The engines didn't look so thrilled anymore.  
"They've promised me," the Big Controller went on, "that he's worked well with steam engines in the past, so I'm willing to give him a chance, and I trust that you all will too. We'll have no bickering during such an important time of year for us, do I make myself clear?"  
"Yes, Sir," the engines replied together. No. 12, who was mute, whistled quietly.  
"Good," the Big Controller said, straightening his tie. "Work starts first thing tomorrow, and the diesel should be here by the end of the week."  
He soon left, and the engines spoke amongst each other. "I don't know, a new diesel?" Morning Light said. "Raiden's a handful as it is. Remember when he almost made Ryu crash into me?"  
"You can't forget those other three Scrap Shunters," Hideaki added.  
Katsu shuddered. "Don't remind me," he grumbled. "I had a run-in with them before. Not a good memory, let me assure you."  
"Toki's better than the other two," Ryu mentioned. "Kenji's good if you catch him at the right time of day. But Mari...never."  
"And not all diesels are bad," Naomi said. "Sora's been much kinder since he first came here, and then there's Joel on the narrow gauge line."  
"It would be nice," Sora put in, "to have another diesel friend around. At least, a nicer one, not like the Keikan ones."  
"But," Misaki said nervously, "diesels are why Hiro was sent away..."  
The sheds quickly went silent.

Hiro was, a long time ago, the biggest and strongest engine on Tanishima. He was owned by the Mainland's private line, and was called the "Master of the Railway". He found good in every engine he met, and there wasn't a single engine who didn't like him. But when the Mainland decided to build up a fleet of diesel engines, Hiro, along with Ryu and No. 12, were put up for sale. Ryu and No. 12 were purchased by the Big Controller, but Hiro was far too expensive, and was almost doomed for scrap. Luckily, however, a controller from another railway far away was on Tanishima for vacation, and when he discovered Hiro, he purchased him immediately.  
"I...wonder how he's doing," Ryu said, breaking the silence.  
"I'm sure he's doing fine," Morning Light smiled. "Don't you worry, we'll see him again someday."  
"I sure hope so," Naomi sighed affectionately. "He would have loved to go on the new mountain line..."  
The stars had come out, and the moon was gradually rising over the sheds. Morning Light was preparing to go and take his late goods train, while Misaki was to take passengers from the coast. Takao had begun to tell the story he had promised earlier.  
"Have you ever wondered what happens after we're scrapped?" the old engine murmured darkly. "When you're cut up, and all of your parts have been melted down, your soul lingers about in the smelter's yard. But it doesn't stay there long."  
He paused, eying the engines. No. 12 gulped.  
"While you wait there, you'll hear a dreadful sound. It's a low, but loud horn... one that sounds like a big, dying, wounded animal. The world around you will fade into darkness, and before you... a single glowing eye, coming straight towards you, never stopping; you'll never hear the scream of the engine's brakes. That's when you meet... the Razor Train.  
"It has black paint darker than the night sky, and stripes of the bloodiest red you've ever seen. It's tall and narrow, and its form is covered all over with scrap metal...you can't even see its wheels. It has no buffers, no couplings...but behind it, it pulls the souls of the lost engines."  
"Wh-where does it go?" stammered Hideaki.  
"Nobody knows. Nobody's ever gotten on board the train and lived to tell about it. It just keeps going, its horn of nightmares echoing through the sky, searching for the next dead soul to add to its never-ending train. It has no thoughts or feelings like us. It might not even have a face. But if it did, it'd be such a monstrous and twisted expression that the last thing you hear won't be its horn...it'll be your own twisted shriek of horror.  
"So you should always keep an eye out. Stay on dry rails, do as your Controller says, and make sure to do your best with whatever job you're given, or you may be the next part of... the Razor Train."  
The sheds went dead silent. Takao glanced at all of his friends, all shaking from axle to funnel.  
"Th-that's the worst train I've ever heard of!" cried out Misaki.  
"Wow Takao, you sure know how to burn that nightmare fuel!" Katsu laughed, pulling himself out of his own nervous shaking.  
"W-we won't see the R-razor train soon, w-will we?" Sora asked.  
"Don't be silly!" Naomi said. "It's a silly story, nothing more."  
"Silly story or not," Morning Light grunted, "it was very well told, I must admit. Now if you would all excuse me, I've got work to do. Thanks for sharing, Takao. It's great to have you back."  
He puffed forward onto the turntable, and then puffed out of the shed. "Come along, Misaki!" he whistled. "You can't be late tonight!"  
No. 12 glanced over at Misaki. She smiled nervously at him. "Hey, don't worry about me," she told him. "I'll be fine. Just a little spooked is all."  
She quickly hurried away. No. 12 watched her go, trying not to be nervous himself.  
His Driver appeared. "Come on, old boy," he said. "We've got some important work to do at the harbor."  
No. 12 suddenly remembered his job, and was quickly back in steam. As he puffed onto the turntable, his side-rods made loud creeks and groans. "Whoa," Ryu said. "Never heard that sort of sound before."  
"Long overdue for overhaul, it sounds like," Takao put in.  
No. 12's face went red as he hurried away. The warm comfort of the shed was suddenly replaced with the cold wind of the autumn night. He shivered in his boiler, steadily making his way to the harbor. Looking up toward the mountain in the far distance, the gusts of wind howling around him, he shuddered as thoughts of the Razor Train crept further into the back of his mind.


	51. Battle for the Mountain: Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

When No. 12 made it to the harbor, he was surprised to see lots of different fishing boats being unloaded along the wharf. "Looks like they're all stocking up for the winter," chuckled his Driver. "We'll be taking trucks down between stations, and then a few more to Keikan. We have to arrange the train first though."  
Scattered all along the wharf were lots of different fish vans. After the men loaded them with as much fish as they could carry, No. 12 would shunt them away into a siding. Much to his dismay, he immediately recognized one of the vans. Unlike the other gray vans, this one was painted jet black. He smirked as he saw No. 12.  
"Hey you!" he laughed. "It's me, Grunt! It's been a while, hasn't it?"  
No. 12 looked away, pretending he hadn't heard. Grunt was the most frustrating and annoying truck on the whole island, and he had taken a dislike to No. 12 in particular. No. 12 was never perfect with trucks, but things always went wrong when he had to take Grunt out.  
"Aw, don't give me that face," Grunt snorted. "Remember all of the good times? When I stalled you? When I derailed you? Or how about the one time when you threw me off the rails? Oh... wait, I haven't gotten back at you for that, now have I? Food for though."  
No. 12 rolled his eyes and went on his way. Grunt was shunted into the train along with the rest of the vans. The heavy fish train was prepared and ready on time, but No. 12 couldn't stand the awful smell. He hurried to the water tower furthest away from the siding.  
As he drank, he noticed a much smaller train next to him on the narrow gauge railway. A small blue engine was bustling about with the little vans. He stopped when he spotted No. 12 watching him. This little engine was named Smudger. He had come to Tanishima a little over twenty years ago.  
"Hey, Twelve!" Smudger whistled as he backed down onto his train. "What's up?"  
No. 12 smiled at him, then looked back toward the fish and made a face.  
"Yeah, I know, it's awful," Smudger laughed. "You'll be smelling fish all morning! I'm taking a train too. I've got to take it to the farms near the valley."  
No. 12 wheeshed, looking out toward the sea. Smudger glanced at the water, and then back at him.  
"Whoa, going out that far?" Smudger asked. "I always wanted to know, what's Keikan like?"  
No. 12 scowled and stuck out his tongue.  
"Hah, good enough explanation for me!" Smudger laughed. Just then, a guard blew his whistle. "Whoops, I'd better get going," he said hastily. "Nice talking to you!" And he whistled as he puffed away, the fish vans rattling behind him.  
It wasn't long before No. 12 had taken on plenty of water. "We can't keep the Big Controller waiting," his Driver said. "Let's get this finished, and then you can come home and get plenty of rest."  
No. 12 agreed. He left the siding and backed down carefully onto his train. Grunt was trying to rally the rest of the vans. "Hold back, hold back," he was chanting. "Show this guy who rules the track!" But it nearly dawn, and the rest of the vans were too tired to play any tricks. Grunt snarled to himself in disappointment.  
The Guard's whistle blew, and he hurried into the brake van as No. 12 started his journey. He left the harbor and puffed through the Main Station, one of the biggest stations on the line. He made his way down the quiet main line, and his Driver thought it would be best to take the long way around, instead of cutting through the valley line.  
The fish vans groaned and rocked behind him. No. 12 made his first stop at the goods station near the Ice Line, where several of the vans were shunted neatly into the siding. They set off again, and with less trucks, No. 12 was able to go faster. They made their next stop at the goods platform of the Valley Station, which was the biggest and most elaborate station on the whole Island. No. 12 took some time to admire it as he waited for the Guard.  
The inside of the station was brightly lit, and hanging on the wall was the painting called "Master of the Railway". It was a painting of Hiro, puffing proudly through the Tanishima countryside, the sun rising behind Mount Saiji. The station had several shops and stalls, including a little restaurant that served sushi on something his Driver called a "sushi train". The station also housed a post office, though No. 12 had never seen it. Beyond the station building, he could see the many buildings of the capital city, Seikyo.  
He was almost sorry when it was time to head off to Keikan. He was even more upset when he saw Grunt still coupled to the train. "Sorry bud," he sneered, "but I'm not out of here just yet."  
No. 12 rolled his eyes and puffed away with the remainder of his train. He puffed through the countryside, now nearly at the bridge. The night air had started to grow warmer as the sun started to creep over the side of the mountain. No. 12 took a deep breath, enjoying the peace before finally rumbling onto the long bridge.

Keikan Island is a small island right between Tanishima and the Mainland. It's used to transfer goods and passengers between the Upper Valley Railway and the Japanese National Railways, as they used different rail gauges; engines from the Mainland are much smaller than those on Tanishima. In the ancient years, Keikan had once been a prison island; the daunting spirit of the prisons is kept alive through the infamous scrap yard, where old engines are shunted away and cut up.  
Working here were three shunting diesels, collectively known amongst the steam engines as the "Scrap Shunters". They were identical in appearance; each had four wheels, a cab in their middle, black paint with yellow hazard stripes and bufferbeams. The only way to tell them apart was to look at their numbers, painted on the side of their cabs.  
Mari was the leader of the three. She was devious and cunning, and yet the most reliable of the group. She kept the other two in order and made sure everything went her way. There was also Kenji, the violent engine with the loudest mouth for miles. He bucked and bounced, and damaged many unfortunate trucks and coaches that got in his way. Last of the group was Toki, who usually wasted his time dozing around until a wiser engine would tell him what to do. He was a very simple sort, but was well-known for his crazed, haunting laugh.  
It was common knowledge for the steam engines to do their best to avoid the three engines at all cost, which is why No. 12 was surprised when, as he left the bridge and pulled into the goods yard, he saw Morning Light had pulled right up to them and was talking. He sounded furious.  
"Raiden was supposed to be here by now," he told them, "so where in the world is he?"  
"No clue," Mari huffed.  
"What do I look like, his guard?" snapped Kenji.  
"He went over the bridge!" Toki exclaimed.  
"Whoa, look at that, you've gone and stated the obvious!" Kenji laughed rudely.  
"Don't you laugh at him," Mari scowled. "He was just trying to help.  
"Well some help he was," Kenji grunted.  
"Stationmaster says he left at six o'clock," Morning Light said. "He should have been here at seven-thirty, but it's almost eight."  
"It's a crime shame, isn't it?" Mari sighed. "Our biggest, strongest, and fastest diesel is also the worst procrastinator."  
No. 12 puffed up alongside. "Right on time," Morning Light told him proudly. "I can't imagine why your Controller would give away such a reliable engine," he continued with a glare at the diesels.  
"Something called modernfistation?" Toki said, trying to think.  
"You mean modernization," Kenji snorted. "To put it in words you'll get: out with the old, in with the new."  
"So why are you three still working?" retorted Grunt from No. 12's train.  
Morning Light and No. 12 couldn't help but laugh. Mari and Kenji were offended.  
"I don't get it," Toki said blankly.  
"Hey, Twelve," Morning Light said, "there's a train of empty trucks in the siding over there. Get it, and once Raiden arrives, bring it to the coal mine on your way back to the shed."  
No. 12 frowned a bit, hissing steam feebly.  
"I know, I know," Morning Light said. "But it's just a few trucks, nothing too big. You can get a rest and plenty to drink while you're here."  
No. 12 reluctantly rolled away while Mari and Kenji began to argue. He shunted Grunt and the rest of the vans at the goods station platform, and then rounded off to find the nearest water tower. It was situated opposite the main line that lead to the passenger station.  
As he drank, he closed his eyes and sighed, thinking of being back in his nice, warm shed. Being on the island that used to be his home, but had so easily tossed him aside like scrap metal, made him uneasy in his frames. He opened his eyes, looking out toward the bridge, and suddenly froze.  
There, coming towards him, was the bright headlamp and a tall, dark engine. He couldn't see it properly through the mist surrounding the bridge, but he instantly thought of the Razor Train.  
His Fireman looked down from the water tube, noticing No. 12's eyes had gone wide. "Hello?" he said, waving his hand down.  
No. 12 suddenly yelped and suddenly shot back, knocking his Fireman off his feet. He backed right into the waiting trucks in the siding. With a loud crash that echoed through the yard, two trucks came to pieces, the rest of them bouncing off the rails.  
The Fireman, shocked but unhurt, ran over. The Driver, who was still in the cab, climbed out, holding his head. "Are you hurt?" the Fireman asked him.  
"Nah, I'm fine," the Driver muttered as he regained his composure. "Hey, Twelve, what was all that about? Look at the mess you made!"  
The engine made its way through the fog and growled to a stop at the station platform, with many dark blue passenger coaches behind it. The diesel was long and black, with a small cab right in its center. It had orange stripes and a yellow bufferbeam.  
Morning Light pulled up alongside him. "Twelve," he called, "what just happened? Raiden, what did you do?" he snapped, looking at the big diesel.  
Raiden raised an eyebrow. "My good engine!" he said tauntingly. "I've only just come here with your train, and you're already accusing me of wrongdoing? I'm simply shocked and appalled."  
"I'm sure you are," Morning Light snorted as the Scrap Shunters arrived to clean up the mess. "Why are you so late today?"  
"I had some engine trouble before we left," Raiden explained coolly. "Your Sunlight Express doesn't leave until nine anyway. The Stationmaster told me I had plenty of time, but I tried to make up for lost time anyway."  
"Well you didn't," Morning Light huffed crossly.  
"And I'm quite ashamed," Raiden said sarcastically. "Please, send my apologies to all of the good people of Japan who I have hurt from my lateness. Grow up, steamer, your Express isn't all that special anyway."  
Morning Light rolled his eyes. "What kind of engine are you supposed to be?" he sighed. "If you're so strong and fast, why don't you go and prove it to everyone instead of making things difficult for us?"  
"Because it's far too much fun to mess with you!" laughed Raiden. He rolled away and stopped by No. 12. "So I hear," he said back to Morning Light, "that you're expecting a new diesel soon."  
"Oh? Who told you that?" Morning Light asked.  
"Nobody in particular," Raiden said smoothly. He turned his gaze toward No. 12. "Just watch the rails you tread. You don't know this newcomer... he might just put your little steam haven out of business."  
No. 12 gulped. Raiden rumbled slowly away to get fuel while No. 12 found some new trucks to take.  
He stopped by Morning Light before he went. "Look," Morning Light explained, "do yourself a favor, and don't listen to anything he says. If you let him get to you, he wins."  
No. 12 whistled goodbye, and he was soon puffing home over the bridge. Looking out toward the water, he tried to reassure himself. He remembered the Big Controller had said something about the diesel working with steam engines before.  
He looked up, and caught a glimpse of the sun rising over the landscape, the water sparkling under him. In the distance, the mountain looked so much smaller than it really was. No. 12 smiled and hurried on his way.  
He hoped that maybe the Big Controller was right, and the new diesel would be helpful and friendly. He had no idea what he was in for.


	52. Battle for the Mountain: Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

While No. 12 finally got some well-earned rest, work on the new line began. The remains of the old line were found a few miles from the Ice Line's goods station. The new line plan called for two tracks leading up through the side of the mountain, ending at the site of the original station. As there was no way for engines to get up to it, they instead used big trucks and other vehicles to bring supplies.  
Meanwhile, the logging line was busier than ever. Naomi and Sora would bring the loggers up every morning, and Misaki and No. 12 would arrive later to collect the new neatly cut railway sleepers, which were cut from the finest Jobi wood trees. They would take them to the work site, where the workmen did their best, laying down as much track as they could. As it got colder by the day, the work began to slow down, but everyone was determined to make the new line work.  
Up at the logging site, there lived an old, rickety steam engine named Shane. He wasn't at all like the other engines; his boiler was on his left side, and his cylinders stuck out from his right. They powered three sets of four wheels under him, and he had a tall, wide-brim funnel. He had been working at the logging site for longer than anyone could remember, and he was proud of his work.  
One cold morning, on the day the new engine was meant to arrive, No. 12 came up the line and found Shane sitting miserably in a nearby siding. "Ah'll be darned," he was muttering, "if Ah can't get up ter steam today." He noticed No. 12 watching him, and smiled feebly. "Don' chu worry 'bou me," he wheezed. "Ah'll be fine."  
No. 12 wasn't so sure. He collected the waiting flatbeds of sleepers, and puffed up to Shane before he left. "Need anything from the Works?" his Driver asked.  
Shane's Driver thought for a moment. "Actually," he replied, "could you shunt him to the Works? There's something definitely wrong with him."  
"Ah haven' been there in years," Shane sighed. "Blas' if 'ey know how ter fix me up."  
No. 12 understood, but their Drivers had made up their minds. No. 12 shunted the flatbeds back into the siding for Misaki to take, and then buffered up to Shane. Carefully, No. 12 pulled him away until they were puffing along Naomi's branch line.  
Shane glanced all around him. No. 12 wasn't allowed to go too fast, so the old engine got to observe the quite little villages, the small stations, and even the river that flowed out toward the sea. "Mah, mah," he chuckled. "How much it's all changed! Lot more roads now than Ah 'member..."  
They had to stop at the Main Station, to wait for the line to be clear before they could get to the Works. While waiting by the platform, the two watched as the nearby narrow gauge engines worked. "Lot more of them lil fellers too," Shane observed. "When Ah was a young 'un, there was jus' 'is one lil red 'un."  
There were two loud honks from behind them. "And soon," came a taunting shout, "there'll be none!"  
"Oh, can it," muttered a second voice. "Nobody takes you seriously, Kin!"  
Rolling up by the station were two city buses. One was painted dark amber color, named Kin, and the other was painted black all over, named Kuro. The twins eyed No. 12 and Shane from the road.  
"What's this rusty old steamer doing here, Mute?" Kuro asked No. 12. "I knew you rail types were out of date, but... sheesh!"  
"Looks ripe and ready for Keikan Island!" laughed Kin. "I could only imagine what the diesels would say if they saw a mess like you!"  
Shane was offended. "Ah do more work in 'un day than yer'll do in a whole lifetime!" he retorted. "Nah be lucky Ah ain't feelin' up ter movin', or y'all'd be scrap metal yerselves!"  
Kin and Kuro went silent. "Yeah, uh, sorry," Kin muttered.  
Kuro scowled. "See?" he said crossly. "If you back down so early to a threat like that, we'll never beat them!"  
The two started to argue loudly just as the signal dropped. No. 12 and Shane hurried away as quickly as their wheels could carry them.

Oni is, perhaps, the smallest engine on all of Tanishima, but he's proven to be the most troublesome engine of all. He's brown and has no cab, and his cylinders are top-to-bottom. He was built to work in a brewery, where he adopted his light-headed, ditzy attitude, before he was bought to work at Tanishima's main Works. He spends his time bringing parts and workmen to different areas of the facility, and sometimes is even loaded onto a special flat truck, which is used to let him shunt standard gauge trucks and pull tired engines inside.  
Oni is sharp when it comes to building and repairing engines, but he keeps this hidden under his rude teasing toward the other, bigger engines. When he saw No. 12 backing into the Works with Shane in front of him, he made sure the two engines would be no exception.  
"Phew!" he snorted as he eyes Shane. "What kind of waste yard did you find this thing, Twelve?"  
No. 12 rolled his eyes. Shane chuckled. "Oh look a' that, there's a lil imp in this place!" he teased in reply. "Th' name's Shane, an' you?"  
"Oni! The best and brightest engine you've ever met! You look like you need a checkup."  
"Yes," Shane agreed, "Ah do."  
There was a pause. Shane and No. 12 looked at Oni expectantly. The little engine just blinked at them.  
"Well?" Shane said.  
"Well what?"  
"Aren't you gonna go get some men ter look over me?"  
"I thought that was your job, gramps," Oni said, making a confused face.  
Shane stared at him in bewilderment.  
"Nya ha ha ha!" Oni laughed. "I'll be back, old timer!"  
Shane grimaced while Oni rolled away, his laugh echoing around "Ah cud get sick o' tha' laugh darned fast," he confined to No. 12.  
No. 12 gave a nervous smile of agreement. His Driver checked his watch. "It's nearly time, old boy," he told him. "The new engine will be at the harbor soon."  
Shane looked up. "New engine?" he said with a grin. "Well, Twelve mah frien', y'all better hurry up an' greet th' new feller. Let 'im kno ter visit mah humble lil line sometime!"  
No. 12 didn't want to leave Shane, but he knew he had to go. He whistled goodbye, and he hurried off to the harbor as fast as his wheels could carry him.

The Big Controller was standing with Ryo Gunji, who the engines knew by his title, the Representative. His job was to go out beyond the island and find engines for sale when the two railways needed them, and would bring them back to Tanishima to work. He and the Big Controller were looking over countless forms, all with as much information about the engine that his owner could give.  
The two men were at the harbor, and the new engine was standing before them, finally on dry rails after his long trip. The diesel engine was long with two sets of four wheels, and two cabs, one on each end. He was painted a dark amber color, with brighter stripes down both of his sides. On the roof of his cab, there was a large, round hole right in his center, with mechanical hinges where an attachment had meant to be.  
The Big Controller glanced over at the Representative. "Where'd you say you found him?" he asked.  
"Some workshop in Europe," he replied. "I don't quite remember the name, but the building was really run down..."  
The big diesel eyed them curiously, trying to listen in on what they were saying.  
"Right, then," the Big Controller said, "you say you've worked with steam engines before?"  
"Oh, plenty of times," the diesel replied with a smirk. "They're outdated where I live, but I collect scrap from another railway. It's full of steam engines, and we get along just fine."  
The Big Controller looked suspicious. "You pull scrap, and you're friends with steam engines?"  
"Well it's a dirty and grimy job! Somebody's gotta do it, right?" the diesel retorted. "I'm pulling what's already been cut up. They're not getting in my train anytime soon."  
The two men glanced at each other, before looking back to the diesel. "So what's with the hole?" the Representative inquired.  
"Oh, that," the diesel said. "It's some experimental thing. They want to put a crane or something on me, but first they want to see how well I can run with just this. Yeah, I don't understand it either. But it's what I have to live with for now, I guess."  
The Big Controller still wasn't completely reassured. "If you cause any trouble for my engines," he said darkly, "we'll send you right back to where you came from. It's an important time of year for us, so we can't bother with any diesel-versus-steam drama. Do I make myself clear, No. 10?"  
"Loud and clear," the diesel replied. "And please, my friend like to call me Big D."  
At that moment, No. 12 had puffed into the harbor. He stopped when he saw Big D waiting there with the Big Controller and the Representative. He was surprised at how intimidating the diesel was.  
"Here," said the Big Controller, "is...erm... Big D. Would you mind showing him the sheds? He'd like to be with other engines after his long journey."  
No. 12 looked nervously at Big D, but his Driver said politely, "We'll take him there right away!"  
No 12 carefully buffered up to Big D, and he slowly puffed out of the harbor. The diesel began to speak as they got closer to the sheds.  
"So kid," he said in his gruff voice, "it's nice to meet you. Got a name?"  
No. 12 just blinked nervously.  
"What, no name?" Big D asked. "Or is it an embarrassing name?"  
No. 12 looked away. He didn't know how to let the visitor know he couldn't talk.  
"What's the matter?" Big D went on. "Got nothing to say? Or... can you say anything?"  
No. 12 gave a sheepish smile.  
"Oh!" Big D said with a loud laugh. "Sorry, kid! I didn't realize, my bad! I just never thought I'd meet a mute engine before."  
No. 12 blushed sheepishly.  
"Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed of," Big D chuckled. "We've all got our quirks, right?"  
No. 12 couldn't help but smile back. Big D didn't seem so bad to him.

By the time night had come, all of the engines of the Upper Valley Railway had come to the sheds to welcome Big D. They were surprised to meet such a polite engine, though Misaki maintained her skepticism.  
"So what did you do on your line?" Morning Light asked.  
"I was a goods engine, mostly," Big D said as he thought. "There's this island not too far from where I live, and I bring trains back and forth over the bridge. It's tough work."  
"Strange," Ryu said. "That sounds just like what Hiro and I used to do."  
Big D looked up at him. "Hiro?"  
All of the engines stared at him. "Do you know him?" asked Hideaki.  
Big D thought for a moment. "I remember a met an engine a few years ago...I think that was his name," he said. "He was big and black, and had red wheels..."  
"That sounds like him!" said Ryu excitedly. All of the engines gathered around to ask Big D about him. Misaki, however, stayed as quiet as No. 12. He watched her eyes, looking as if she was trying to dissect every word Big D said. "I don't know about you," she whispered to No. 12, "but I'm not going to trust him just because he met Hiro..."  
No. 12 gave her a sympathetic smile. He knew she was just being cautious, but he was starting to think she might be overreacting. Big D didn't seem too bad to him at all. And if there was a railway where he and Hiro could have worked together, maybe it wouldn't be too hard to give this new engine a chance on their own line.  
It wasn't too long before the Big Controller arrived. "I see you've all given Big D a warm welcome," he said kindly. "Now then, there's a late train that has to go to Keikan, and..."  
"Oooh!" Hideaki exclaimed. "Can I do it, Sir? I'm all ready to go!"  
"You just want to show off," Naomi said with a roll of her eyes.  
"What?" Hideaki scoffed. "No I don't! I'm just the best engine for the job, that's all."  
The other engines groaned. "I was thinking," the Big Controller clarified, "that we let Big D take this one. It would be a nice way for him to learn the Main Line."  
"I'd be happy to help, Sir," Big D said with a smile.  
The rest of the engines said goodbye as Big D rolled out of the sheds. Big D rumbled off to the goods yard, far from the ears of the steam engines. In the darkness, his kind smile curled into an ugly snarl.  
"Stupid gullible steamers," he snorted to himself. Glaring toward the sheds, he spat on the ground as he pulled out of the yard toward Keikan.


	53. Battle for the Mountain: Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Big D had not returned the following morning, and the engines were concerned. Morning Light, who went to Keikan Island every morning to collect his Express, promised to keep an eye out for him. "I'm sure he's fine," he said with confidence. "It's not like he's being held hostage there or anything."  
After he had gone, work began again. Naomi and Sora hurried to the branch line to collect their trains, Katsu puffed to the Main Station to arrange the trains for Ryu and Hideaki, Misaki went off to the logging site to collect wood, and No. 12 made his way to the new section of the mountain line.  
They had decided to build two parallel tracks rather than just one; one would be used for all trains coming down, and the other for those going up. In case of emergency, the "up" line also included a junction that lead toward the Ice Line.  
When No. 12 arrived, he was surprised to see Takao waiting for him. "I helped build the railway," the old engine wheezed, "so I thought I'd lend a hand here too."  
No. 12 was nervous for Takao's health, but smiled anyway, and set to work. Despite his age, Takao proved himself to be a valuable member of the team; he would warn them when the rails were too far apart or too close together, helped insure the two tracks weren't too close together, and even rolled onto new sections of track to make sure it was stable. No. 12 watched him in admiration, and would hurry off every so often to collect more supplies.  
The morning started off chilly, but by the time the workmen went on their lunch break that afternoon, it had grown much warmer, and the men had to take off their scarves. No. 12 and Takao took their rest too, watching the men eat. But while they did, No. 12 heard an unusual long, loud howl echo from the side of the mountain. The men froze, looking up toward the tall red trees.  
"Wolves?" No. 12's driver said. "I thought they were extinct in Japan."  
"Not in this region, they're not," said the foreman as he sipped his coffee. "Blame the Americans for that."  
No. 12 stared at Takao, completely baffled.  
"Oh, you don't know the story, do you?" laughed the old engine. "You need to visit the museum much more often. You learn a lot about our island's history there. Would you like to hear the story? It'd be a nice way to pass the time."  
No. 12 glanced nervously at the workmen before looking back at Takao.  
"Oh, don't worry," the old engine laughed. "I'll keep it nice and short, I promise."  
No. 12 smiled in agreement.  
"Over 100 years ago," Takao began, "the first Americans began to come from across the ocean to explore Japan. One ship came to port right here on our own island. The ship was called Brazos and there was a man called Captain Joshua Wilkes. He had come because he wanted to show us what he called the 'wonders of the New World'. With him, he had brought people of red skin, and wolves of red fur. He wanted to show the people how he and his crew had tamed the wolves and made them their hunting pets, but when he introduced them, they broke free and ran away in the valleys and mountains of the island."  
No. 12 couldn't help but chuckle to himself.  
"After that, the people of our island took the Captain and his crew to show him our culture and landscapes, but he seemed far more interested in talking about his own home than to learn about ours. But the red-skinned people were different. They would listen and learn as much as they could, and they honored our Island's tradition, especially the cherry-blossom viewing. Our Island's people soon realized that the red-skinned people were slaves of the Captain and his crew, and he planned on bringing people of our Island back home with him. Angered, they teamed up with the reds to chase the Captain away, sending them back to where they came. The wolves and the red-skinned people were free, and they lived together peacefully ever since."  
No. 12 stared at Takao as if the old engine had cracked his dome.  
"Don't you look at me like that!" Takao laughed. "Reality can sometimes be much more amazing than fiction, you know."  
He looked back toward the mountain and sighed, with a content smile. "It's going to be wonderful," he said happily, "to see the other side again. I wonder if my old friends are over there, and what they've been up to for so long..."  
No. 12 blinked in surprise. He had never heard of Takao's old friends before.  
"They worked on our main line and on the Keikan line," Takao explained, "before you, Ryu, and Hiro were built. We imported them from far away, and when we had plenty of engines working here, they were sent away to work on the other side of the Island. I bet there's a whole different railway waiting for us on the other side of the mountain..."  
Just as he had finished speaking, they saw the Stationmaster from the Ice Line platform run up to the men, looking panicked. "There's a runaway!" he cried. "An engine's going down the line without any Driver on board!"  
No. 12's driver stood up. "Any ideas on how to stop it?"  
"If we get somebody into the cab, we can stop it before it reaches the coast," the Stationmaster went on grimly. "If we don't, it's going to crash into the sea."  
No. 12's driver thought for a short while. "Come with me," he said. "I've got a plan."  
He, the Fireman and the Stationmaster all scrambled into No. 12's cab. "Come along, old boy," his Driver said. "We're going to be heroes today!"  
No. 12 was terrified of pulling any stunts, but he couldn't exactly say anything in protest.  
"Good luck, friend!" Takao called out as No. 12 puffed away backwards. "You'll do just fine!"  
They reached the points leading to the Main Line. No. 12 backed over the points, now facing the line leading south to the coast. His Driver manually changed the points, and they went on their way again.  
The Stationmaster told them when the train left, while the Driver kept looking behind them. "Any second now..." he muttered.  
Just then, he saw the train coming around the corner, right behind them. It was Big D, with a long train of trucks rattling and screaming behind them, the new diesel looking pale with fear. No. 12 watching him while his Driver checked the speed. Gradually, Big D was right next to them, and No. 12 was puffing with every last ounce of steam to keep up.  
There was a sudden screech from No. 12's wheels, and he stated to slow down, with Big D drawing ahead.."DON'T SLOW DOWN!" Big D cried out. "HELP ME!"  
No. 12 tried his best to reach Big D's front again. He was puffing so hard that his face was growing red. His Driver was starting to worry. "You can do it!" he called out to reassure No. 12.  
The Stationmaster stood on the footplate. He glanced ahead, noticing Big D's door was still open, pushed shut from the speed. He timed himself carefully. "Come on..." he hissed between his teeth.  
He took a deep breath and pushed off No. 12's footplate with one foot, the other landing on Big D's steps. He reached across to grab the handrail, and finally let go of No. 12. Climbing up the steps, he forced himself through the doorway and into the cab. He checked Big D's speed and, much to his relief, the big diesel began to slow down.  
They brought him to a stop at the Main Station, and the Stationmaster scrambled inside to call for help. Ryu arrived to take away the trucks. Big D glanced up at No. 12. "Thanks...kid..." he panted. "You really... saved me...back there..."  
No. 12 could only smile back with tired whistle. He was too tired to move on his own anymore, so Katsu, who had seen everything, came along to shunt him over to the water tower.

"No Sir, I can assure you," Raiden was telling the Signalman, "I didn't see anything that happened. All I did was see Big D leaving here with his train. I saw nothing else."  
The Signalman looked him over and shook his head. "We'll get to the bottom of this," he grumbled. "Whoever here that's been playing tricks is in for some serious trouble. They're could have been a major accident today, so count your blessings."  
He turned to walk back toward the Signalbox. Raiden's nervous smile quickly turned into a furious grimace. He rumbled loudly away to the scrap yards.  
Kenji and Toki were busy arranging Raiden's passenger train, and in the siding was Mari, looking as innocent as she could. Raiden didn't buy it for a second. "Tell me," he snarled. "What exactly were you thinking with that little prank of yours?"  
Mari rolled her eyes. "Hey, we had to break the new guy in somehow," she snorted. "So I sent him on his way alone. So what?"  
Raiden narrowed his eyes. "The plan's not going to work," he hissed, "if our mole's going to crash into the sea."  
"We could easily take over that cruddy little railway any day we wanted though."  
"But their Controller's not going to put up with us!" Raiden snarled. "You know as well as I do that he'll just send us back here. So now we have Big D in there. He stirs up some trouble, the blame goes to the steamers, and they bring in new diesels. Then the steam engines can find their way right to our scrap yards."  
"It's too complicated and stupid," Mari said. "Something's bound to go wrong."  
"It almost DID," Raiden emphasized, "and it was YOUR fault. Now stop playing around with your own insane ideas and listen to me for once. Do you understand?"  
"Yeah, I do," Mari said darkly.  
"Yes WHAT?" Raiden barked.  
Mari looked as if she was about to kill Raiden. "Yes, BOSS," she spat.  
"Good," Raiden said. "Now get back to work." And he growled away to take on oil for his journey.  
Kenji and Toki rolled up alongside Mari. "Hey," Toki quipped. "Are you okay?"  
"Shut up and get the train ready," Mari hissed between her grinding teeth. She rolled away, leaving Kenji and Toki staring.  
"Dunno what's gotten into her," Kenji muttered, "but whatever it is, I don't like it."  
"Bad things?" Toki asked.  
"Yeah," Kenji grunted. "Let's hurry before she explodes or something."  
They finished arranging the train, and Raiden blasted his horn before rolling away, over the bridge to Tanishima. Toki hurried away to rest in a siding, while Kenji came to Mari's side. "You okay?" he asked cautiously.  
"It's that stupid Raiden," she muttered under her breath. "You have no idea how angry he makes me. Him and his stupid ideas."  
"Well maybe it'll work this time..." Kenji started.  
"No, it's NOT going to work," Mari sighed. "Don't you get it? Every time he comes up with something, he leaves out an important detail, overlooks a key part of the plan, and it all falls apart. I'm starting to think he actually LIKES those other guys and uses his schemes to get close to them."  
"So..." Kenji thought for a moment. "He's like a bratty little kid kicking and screaming for attention?"  
"Exactly. And yet he thinks he's so high-and-mighty, and has the audacity to order me around. The only person I work for is me."  
She looked over to Kenji. "If I were you," she said, "I'd think twice before letting him give you orders. He's nowhere near fit to be a leader."  
Mari rolled away. Kenji watched her leave, thinking quietly to himself. He really respected her, but he wasn't sure that overthrowing Raiden would be the smart thing to do.  
The trucks in front of Kenji, who had never been to Keikan before, started to tease. Kenji glared at them, the gold fang flashing in his mouth. The other trucks, dented and sore from their past experiences, frantically hissed for the other trucks to be quiet.  
"Look at this loser!" the new trucks laughed. "What kind of guy takes advice from a girl?"  
Kenji bashed them so hard that they kept quiet for the rest of the night.

"So what do you think, Shane?" Oni said proudly. "Aren't they great?"  
Shane glanced over at the flatbeds inside the Works building. "Oh," he said, "Hiro's new parts 're finished?"  
"Yup!" Oni cheered. "And I built them with my own two buffers!"  
"But ye don' 'ave buffers," Shane pointed out.  
"Oh yeah? Well then I built them with my own two wheels! Wait, I've got four of those... I built them with... Well, I built them, and you can't say I didn't, so there!" Oni stuck his tongue out.  
"Strange lil guy," Shane chuckled to himself.  
"The boat's gonna be here in... eh, I dunno, the end of the week? Not sure who's taking them though. Maybe that new guy. Why haven't I met him, anyway?"  
He looked behind him. In a siding was another engine, with no paint, but with plenty of new parts. She had four wheels, a long saddle tank, and a tall, square cab. Behind her was a metal coal truck, coupled to her. "Didn't you hear?" she said to Oni. "He almost had an accident today. He ran away without his Driver and almost crashed into the sea."  
"Oh?" Oni stared before frowning. "Jeez, ALMOST crashed? We need to finally have a major accident! No respectable railway has gone without some kinda big crash! And your earthquake doesn't count, Ji Yeon. I mean a real big, trucks flying off the rails going everywhere kinda crash! The ones you only see in those teleboxy thingies!"  
Ji Yeon and Shane sighed as Oni burst out in laughter.


	54. Battle for the Mountain: Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The sun was barely creeping over the horizon when No. 12 woke up the following morning. The firelighter had only just finished, and he could feel the warmth of the flame spreading through to his boiler.  
"Morning," said Ryu, who was already in steam and preparing to leave. "Sleep well?"  
No. 12 could only reply with a groggy smile.  
"That's good," Ryu chuckled. "Hey, listen. Shane's repairs are done, so you have to go pick him up and bring him back to the forest as soon as you can. Winter's coming in faster than we thought, so we have to pick up the pace. Got that?"  
No. 12 gave a little grin.  
"Good. Now I've gotta get going. Important engines like me should always be busy!"  
No. 12 couldn't help but chuckle as Ryu puffed away. He remembered when, years ago, Ryu was stubborn and refused to do any work at all. But thanks to Hiro's teaching and a new coat of paint, he'll pull almost any train...but he seems to enjoy showing off more than he enjoys being Really Useful.  
No. 12 looked down at his own coat of paint. His boiler, cab and side tanks, having once been jet-black, had faded and chipped, making the tank engine look older than he was. His red wheels had grown darker over the years, and the gold on his cylinders was so weathered that it looked gray.  
He was just thinking about being painted green, like his friends, when the Big Controller arrived. "Well!" he said proudly. "He's yesterday's big hero!"  
No. 12's face went a deep shade of red.  
"I just wanted to thank you," the Big Controller went on, "and your crew for jumping in and saving Big D from a nasty accident. Once we're finished with the new line, I'll be sure to send you to the Works for a fresh coat of paint. Would you like that?"  
No. 12, who had gotten plenty of steam by now, smiled and tooted happily.

At the Works, Shane was preparing to leave. Only Oni was protesting. "You're still using that old boiler?" he said loudly. "That thing's older than I am!"  
"It wor' jus' fine fer meh," Shane chuckled. "B'sides, we gotta finish up th' loggin' before th' snow falls."  
"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Ji Yeon asked from the siding.  
"Ah'll manage, don' you worry," Shane said with a warm smile.  
No. 12 was just pulling in when he noticed that, on the other side of the Works building, there were several long flat trucks, each piled high with locomotive parts. In particular, one was loaded with a long boiler.  
"Nah, we're not building a new engine," Oni chirped. "Those are new parts for Hiro. We'll be sending them by ship soon. Cool, isn't it?"  
No. 12 wheeshed in agreement. He buffered up to Shane as Oni rolled over to him.  
"Oh, by the way," he said, "have you seen Morning Light around? He's due for a check-up pretty soon. Could you tell him about it?"  
No. 12 stared at him, before giving an offended glare.  
Oni made a goofy, crooked smile. "You mad?" he taunted.  
No. 12 blew so much steam in Oni's face that the little Works engine yelped and rolled away.  
"A 'andful, that lil un," Shane sighed.  
"But he does keep this place together," Ji Yeon pointed out. "And he gives it personality."  
"Perhaps too much so?" Shane pointed out.  
"Well it's not like nobody can keep him in line, right?" Ji Yeon asked.  
No. 12 and Shane exchanged nervous glances.  
"What? Nobody at all?"  
"From wha' lil Oni tells meh," Shane said, "'e's pretty close wit' Mornin' Ligh'. Dunno how 'ey got ter be such good buds."  
Ji Yeon frowned. "I wish I could get through to him," she sighed.  
"Yer ambition's somethin' ter be admired, Ji Yeon," Shane said with a kind smile.  
No. 12 whistled goodbye, and he puffed away with Shane in tow. Ji Yeon decided to rest, while Oni cuffed back and was loaded onto his converter flatbed.  
Oni spent the rest of his morning shunting the trucks outside the Works building. The big standard gauge trucks found it unusual to be pushed around by a narrow gauge engine, but Oni won them over with his jokes and songs, and it wasn't too long before they were neatly arranged. When the work was finished, Oni rolled into the other side of the Works building, with the flatbeds of Hiro's parts right between him and Ji Yeon.  
It was at that moment when Big D rumbled in. He stopped right in front of Oni and his truck. "Well!" the big diesel chuckled. "You're Oni. The other engines have told me lots about you."  
"Haha, the one and only!" Oni laughed. "So you're the new guy? What are you doing here so fast? It's been, what, two days since you came here?"  
"I almost crashed yesterday," Big D said sourly, "and they want to check me over before sending me back to—"  
"Oh yeah, I heard about that!" Oni chuckled. "No offense, but that would've been the coolest accident this Island's ever heard of!"  
"Very funny," Big D snorted sarcastically. His eyes made their way over to the flatbeds beside him. "And what are these?"  
"New parts for our old buddy, Hiro. I built them myself!" Oni explained proudly. "Manager was worried that the guys over there wouldn't know how to fix Hiro up, so he thought we'd save them the trouble!"  
Big D eyed them with a sinister smirk, before looking up at Oni. "But if they do fix him up anyway," he said while frowning, "wouldn't all this work have been a waste of time and money?"  
"Nya ha...eh..." Oni was taken aback. "Well...it can't hurt to be too cautious about this kind of stuff, right?"  
"Or worse yet, what if they pull him out of work anyway?" Big D smirked sinisterly. "It is the end of the steam era, you understand. Steam engines are being cut up all over the world."  
"Nya...erm..." Oni's usually dozy smile flickered. "Well they wouldn't really scrap the Master of the Railway, right? I mean, he's famous..."  
"Lots of famous engines have been cut up," Big D went on. "I wouldn't be shocked if poor Hiro didn't make it into preservation. If a railway as big as yours couldn't afford to save him, how could some enthusiasts? I've seen the scrap yards, kid. They're lined for miles with old steamers, just waiting to meet the cutter's torch—"  
"I don't like you," Oni said flatly, with a surprisingly serious expression.  
"Touched a nerve?" Big D grinned.  
"Not at all!" Oni clarified, forcing himself to smile again. "We steamers aren't intimidated by big bossy diesels like you! We're awesome, and we know it!"  
Oni laughed proudly, but Big D could tell the little engine was trying to hold back his anger. He thought for a moment before glaring darkly. "Where I come from," he snarled in a hoarse whisper, "little useless toy tank engines like you are all reduced to scrap metal and used to build engines like me."  
Not even Big D could have predicted Oni's reaction. The little engine's usually droopy eyes suddenly went wide with rage, and his whole frame rocked violently on the flatbed. The startled driver tumbled off the side. Dazed, he got up to see Oni's flatbed moving, pushing right up against Big D and forcing the big engine out of the Works, the little brown engine hissing and snarling.  
"Whoa, hey, what the heck?" cried Big D.  
"Stop!" cried the Manager, and the workmen scrambled to catch the two engines. By the time the Driver was able to scramble back up the footplate and apply the brakes, Oni had already pushed Big D out of the building, and he rolled down the slope, his rear wheels just inches away from the switch leading to the main line.  
"GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT!" Oni was screaming at him at the top of his voice, red in the face and shaking violently. "I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOUR FAT UGLY FACE HERE EVER AGAIN!"  
"Whoa! Hey! Calm down!" cried the Driver, and he tried to shut off steam. Oni's safety valve suddenly burst, and the little engine snarled in pain. Big D chuckled darkly to himself as he rolled away, watching the workmen surround the shaking, crying little engine.

No. 12 and Shane met up with Morning Light at the Main Station, and Shane delivered the message on behalf of No. 12. Morning Light agreed, and promised to visit the Works as soon as he was able.  
The sun was setting as he brought his last train safely to the Valley Station. "Don't worry about the Sunlight Express tomorrow," his Driver said kindly. "Another engine will be able to fill in for you."  
Morning Light couldn't help but worry, but this was his nature. He left the Valley Station and coasted calmly though the famous valley, whistling happily as he passed the Lower Valley Railway engines on the lines below him. He was satisfied with his long day of work, and was looking forward to talking to his friends.  
But when he pulled up in front of the Works, he could tell immediately that something was wrong. Typically, he would arrive while Oni was making jokes to other engines. He and Oni were best friends; Morning Light was a prototypical engine and had to visit the Works often, so the two often talked, and Oni was always interested in finding out different ways of improving Morning Light's design.  
He crept in as quietly as he could. "Hey!" Ji Yeon called from the other side of the line of flatbeds.  
"Hey Ji Yeon," Morning Light replied. "Have you seen..."  
But he didn't need to finish. Beside him, there were workmen huddled in a circle, looking over Oni, who was sobbing as the men examined him as best they could.  
"Oni?" Morning Light said. "What happened to him?"  
"I don't know, I was sleeping, I didn't see it," Ji Yeon sighed. "Last time I saw somebody in here was Twelve, and when I woke up, Oni was like that..."  
Morning Light listened closely to Oni's sobbing. "I'm not useless..." he was whispering between sobs. "I'm not useless...I'm not useless..."  
Morning Light tried not to choke up.  
"Poor kid was insulted," the Manager was saying, "and he went off in a rage. He's not even steaming properly anymore. It's best if we take him apart and find out where the damage is."  
"Hey, Oni...you'll be fine..." Morning Light called out to his friend. Oni was gently pushed away into another section of the building and out of sight.  
Ji Yeon looked up at Morning Light. "I'm sorry..." she said.  
"Don't be," Morning Light sighed. "You couldn't have helped it." He frowned, lowering his eyes. "But when I find out who hurt my friend, they better pray they're not on the same rails as me."

No. 12 watched the sun setting as he made his way back home. He had spent the whole day up at the logging site with Shane, and they had collected plenty of new lumber. They would be cut up into new sleepers, and be used on the new mountain line. No. 12 had worked his hardest, and he couldn't help but feel accomplished. He wanted to hum a little tune, but he couldn't, so his Driver and Fireman began to hum for him.  
No. 12 pulled into the sheds, but instantly found the other engines weren't sharing the same mood as him. Morning Light was scowling, and Naomi and Ryu were doing their best to cheer him up. Big D, Sora, and Hideaki were muttering quietly in the corner. No. 12 couldn't help but feel that there was something going on he didn't know about.  
"Twelve!" Morning Light suddenly called out. "Were you at the Works today? Did you see something happen to Oni?"  
No. 12 froze in the spot. He didn't know what Morning Light meant, so he just stared back at the big engine nervously.  
"Don't look at him like that!" Naomi said defensively. "You can't think Twelve, of all engines..."  
"What am I supposed to be?" Morning Light barked angrily. "I go in, and the first thing I see is my best friend in tears, being dragged away to be taken apart! And the last engine in there was Twelve!"  
No. 12 was alarmed. He wanted to reassure Morning Light that he hadn't done or seen anything, but parked in the shed and his steam off, he could only hope another engine would stand up for him.  
"Look," Naomi snorted. "Twelve was up at the forest with Shane today, and that's it. I saw them coming up the line this afternoon."  
"Are you sure?" Morning Light sighed. "Where's Shane now?"  
"Still up on his line," Big D put in. "It's where he lives, right?"  
"Why can't we just ask Oni what happened?" Sora mentioned.  
"He's probably in pieces right now," Ryu explained. "And last we saw him, Oni was too miserable to talk to anyone."  
"Well I'm not just going to sit here on my buffers while some engine's out there making our lives difficult," Morning Light frowned. "If any of you hear something, let me know, got it?"  
They ended the discussion there. No. 12 could only sigh in relief. This was one of those times where he wished, badly, that he wasn't mute. When things went wrong and the blame came to him, it was impossible to defend himself.  
He glanced over at Big D, who gave him a small grin. "Don't worry, kid," he whispered. "Oni'll be fine."  
It wasn't until Misaki came back with Takao that the discussion about Oni came back up. She parked herself next to No. 12 as Hideaki and Ryu explained the story.  
"Nobody knew who the engine was?" Misaki asked with a frown. "Wouldn't the workmen have seen?"  
"I wanted to ask, but they were too busy fixing Oni," said Ryu. "I'll try again tomorrow, after Morning Light comes back with his Express."  
Misaki thought for a bit before grinning in excitement. "It'll be like those mystery stories my Driver's told me!" she chirped.  
No. 12 looked over, raising an eyebrow.  
"He told me about stories where things go wrong and some guy runs around finding clues," Misaki explained. "And when he has enough clues, he can find the person who caused all the problems and have him punished! Isn't that cool?"  
"Doesn't sound too exciting to me," Ryu commented.  
"Oh, what do you know?" retorted Misaki.  
No. 12 couldn't help but chuckle. Misaki always knew how to cheer him up.

The autumn night was dark and chilly. Kin and Kuro, the two buses who were usually found driving along Naomi's branch line, were preparing for their day of work. They had driven to the Main Station, where Katsu was busy arranging a goods train. "Big D will be takin' this," he said. "You two treat the new guy with respect, got it?"  
"Hah! If he runs on rails, he's no friend of ours!" Kin laughed.  
Kuro rolled his eyes. "You keep quiet. The last thing I need is to hear your babbling all morning."  
"I'm not babbling!" Kin huffed.  
"Well looking at you is painful enough," Kuro went on, "so just let me do the talking."  
Kin rolled his eyes and glanced over toward the train Katsu had prepared. There were lots of different trucks going to Keikan, but what caught his eye was a blue brake coach in the middle of the train. "Never saw a goods train with passengers before."  
"It's not," Katsu said. "That brake coach is faulty. The brakes keep slipping on if it's stopped too quickly, and it's nearly caused some accidents. We're taking it to Keikan to be cut up. Now if you'll excuse me." Katsu puffed away to the water tower in the yard.  
The two buses went back to chatting with each other while the moon began to creep up over the sky. They almost didn't notice the large, brown diesel carefully backing down on the train, listening closely to the chattering.  
Kuro noticed Big D first. "So you're the new guy?" he said with a smirk.  
"Don't get too cozy on these rails!" Kin chuckled. "Once we take over, there will be nothing here but road!"  
Big D stared. "The steamers told me about you two," he growled. "Two tiresome buses with all bark and no bite. You really think threatening every engine you see is going to further your plans? No? Didn't think so."  
Kin and Kuro stared. "I warned you to shut up," Kuro hissed at Kin.  
But then a sly smile curled onto Big D's face. "I've got a plan though," he whispered. "Listen. There's a crossing a few miles just before the Works, and another near the Ice Line. Think you two could help this diesel send those steam engines to scrap?"  
"Whoa, wait, you're joking, right? Kuro frowned.  
"Kuro!" Kin cried. "We can finally have an ally for once!"  
"Yeah, but he's on rails," Kuro grunted. "I'm not too sure about this."  
Kin sighed. "Look, they're never going to take us seriously if we don't take some action, so let's go ahead and work with him a bit! Who knows how much power and respect we can gain!"  
Kuro closed his eyes and sighed. Then he looked up at Big D. "So what's the plan?"


	55. Battle for the Mountain: Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

As Morning Light still hadn't been inspected, it was decided that Hideaki would take the Sunlight Express that day. Ryu would be taking a train of fish later that afternoon, and would investigate the Works after that. Naomi and Sora went to their branch line, and Misaki went to work on the mountain line with Takao.  
No. 12, meanwhile, got a very special job. "After you're done with Shane," the Big Controller said, "I want you to go to the Works and collect Hiro's new parts and bring them to the harbor."  
No. 12 was so excited he thought his boiler might burst.  
"You were incredibly brave to save Big D," the Big Controller went on kindly, "so I thought you deserved a special treat. The boat will leave this evening, so there's no need to hurry with the logging work."  
As he walked away, Big D rolled up alongside No. 12. "You're very lucky, kid," he chuckled. "I've only got goods work to do. Taking Hiro's parts...that has to be the grandest honor on the whole island!"  
No. 12 was beaming from buffer to buffer. With a happy whistle, he puffed away towards Naomi's branch line. Big D's kind smile turned into a sinister smirk.  
"Enjoy your illusion of grandeur for now, puffball." He then rolled slowly out of the sheds, to put his devious plot into action.

When Hideaki arrived on Keikan to collect the Sunlight Express, he was surprised to see that Raiden was nowhere to be found. Kenji was bashing some trucks nearby while Mari collected the heavy coaches, and brought them neatly to the platform.  
"So where'd Raiden go?" Hideaki asked her while he buffered up to the train.  
"Don't know, don't really care," Mari sighed. "I'm just glad he's not around for now."  
Hideaki frowned. "You don't like him?"  
"He has his moments," Mari replied, "but he's just so bossy and overbearing. It's more than I can stand."  
"Well you seem like the most sensible of the diesels I've met," Hideaki said in a kind tone. "I think you deserve better than him."  
"You know," Mari said with a small smile, "you're not bad for a steamer."  
Just at that moment, Toki rolled up, staring in confusion. "Mari? What are you doing?" he asked.  
Mari's smile quickly vanished. "Nothing, Toki. Nothing at all."  
"Were you being nice to a steam engine?"  
Mari shot him a dangerous glare. "Quiet, you," she hissed.  
"But I thought we weren't supposed to be nice to—"  
"Yo! Toki!" Kenji suddenly shouted. "Get over here and take these trucks away! I'm busy with these!"  
The trucks squirmed and screamed as Kenji violently bashed them into their proper sidings. Hideaki could see they were noticeably shaking. He gulped.  
Meanwhile, the mainland's train had just arrived, and the passengers climbed on board Hideaki's train. The Sunlight Express was the fastest and most famous train on all of Tanishima, and carried countless important passengers. In the old days, Hiro would pull the train, but after he left, Morning Light took on the duty. Ryu or Hideaki pulls it when Morning Light is unable, and one time Misaki and No. 12 had to pull it together.  
The people hurried into the coaches, the porter walked up and down the platform to close the doors, and when everything was ready, the Conductor blew his whistle and waved his green flag. He then hurried into the brake coach while Hideaki whistled in reply. With much blowing of steam, he eased the train out of the station and onto the bridge connecting the two islands.  
At first, they were running splendidly. The sea breeze whooshed around the Express, and passengers pressed their faces up against the windows to watch the sun rise over the sea. Hideaki grinned as he admired the view of Tanishima from the bridge, his wheels whirring while he made his way. His Driver was delighted as well. "At this pace," he told the Fireman, "we could be there early today!" He leaned out of the cab to call out to Hideaki. "Keep it up! You're doing well!" he said proudly.  
They crossed over onto Tanishima and thundered along the main line. The train almost never had any trouble, but today, the Driver peeked from the cab and noticed that they were approaching a signal set at "Danger". In the distance, they could see a thick cloud of black smoke.  
"Whoa, boy!" his Driver called. He and the Guard in the coach put on the brakes, and Hideaki eased gradually to a stop, right in front of a level crossing.  
There, in front of him and billowing smoke around him, was Kin. He coughed and groaned, and his eyes made their way up to Hideaki.  
"Whoa, what happened to you?" Hideaki asked.  
"What's it look like happened? I've broken down!" Kin said crossly.  
"Didn't your Driver go to find help?" Hideaki's Driver asked.  
"Yes, but he's been gone for hours!" Kin frowned. "I don't know what to do!"  
"Relax, relax," the Fireman said. "I know how to find help."  
He hurried into the signalbox and made a few phone calls, and half an hour later, a familiar military jeep pulled up. His name was Daichi, and often spent his time with the narrow gauge engines. He lived at the military base that used to be an abandoned town, and he often did odd jobs.  
"Whoa, Kin," he chuckled. "What in the world happened to you?"  
Kin rolled his eyes. "I'm. Broken. Down," he said with emphasis on each word. "Is your hood dented or something? This is what happens when you spend too much time with steam engines!"  
Daichi laughed and set to work. In his trunk there were cables, chains and hooks. He was attached to Kin and, with much growling and revving, he pulled Kin cleanly off the level crossing. The Signalman watched and changed the signal, and then opened the gates. "All clear, Hideaki!" he called out.  
Hideaki whistled in reply and tried to start, but found that he couldn't. His Driver was baffled. He tried again, but Hideaki still couldn't get the train to move. He called out for the Guard to take the brake off the coach.  
"What are you talking about?" the Guard called back. "I took the brakes off!"  
The Driver and Fireman hurried back to the coach to investigate. It looked as though the brakes were off, but when they looked underneath, they found the brakes hard on.  
The Driver put his hand to his forehead. "Not this stupid coach again..."  
The Fireman hurried to the signalbox to send a warning ahead to the Main and Valley stations. Meanwhile, Hideaki would have to wait until another engine could come for help.

No. 12 was finally done with arranging the flatbeds piled high with Jobi wood. He waited until Misaki arrived to collect them before he would go to the Works.  
But when Misaki arrived, No. 12 found that she looked worried and puzzled. "Hideaki's not back yet with his train," she said grimly, "so Ryu can't go with his train."  
"Wha?" Shane croaked as he clattered over to the two. "Th' Sunligh' Express is nevah late!"  
"I know," Misaki sighed. "I'm worried for his passengers. If they're stranded somewhere, they'll be complaining to the Big Controller once they get to a station..."  
"Oi!" Shane huffed. "Our railway doesn' need tha' kinda reputation! Once ye'r done with them logs, go an' fin' th' train. Help 'owever ye' can."  
Misaki agreed and hurried off with her train. No. 12 waited for a short while, and then hurried down the line.  
He whooshed through the curved tunnel, and puffed past the bus depot, which was unusually empty that day. He left the Branch and pulled into the Main Station, where Ryu was growling crossly, his goods train trailing behind him. Nearby, Naomi was being coupled up to some coaches, while Sora made his way onto the Branch with a few coaches of his own. Naomi didn't stop to talk; she just dashed out of the station and and down the Main Line as quickly as her worn wheels could carry her.  
Ryu was busy arguing with the Stationmaster and Guard, and never noticed No. 12 hurry away down the Works line. The little engine knew he had a tendency to panic, so he tried his best to stay positive. Naomi would soon help Hideaki, he would deliver Hiro's parts on time, and Misaki and Takao would take care of the Mountain Line. No. 12 forced a small smile.  
But it quickly vanished when he pulled into the Works. Oni wasn't rushing around as he usually was; he was hidden in another area of the Works, though No. 12 could still hear him whimpering and sobbing. Ji Yeon just sat there alone on the narrow gauge line, still unfinished, not having been worked on since Oni was put out of work. But what really made No. 12 horrified was Hiro's train of parts.  
It was gone. Not outside in the yard, not inside of the Works shed. Ji Yeon looked up. "Twelve?" she called. "What are you doing back here? Didn't you take the parts an hour ago?"  
No. 12's driver leaned out of the cab. "What are you talking about?" he asked.  
"An hour ago, I woke up and I saw the parts pulling out. I thought it was you, so I just..."  
Before she could finish, No. 12 has hurrying backwards away from the Works. His Driver swore furiously in the cab.  
They decided to hunt down the parts before the day was over. No. 12 raced down to the Lower Coast Station, but they weren't anywhere in the yard. They tried again at the Yard near the Main Station.  
Grunt was there, in the middle of Ryu's train. "Hey there, loser," he chuckled. "What's got you..."  
No. 12 payed him no attention. He rushed back and forth into every siding, but they couldn't find the parts there either. No. 12 tried not to panic. He rushed out of the Yard and through the station.  
Ryu's Guard saw them and blew his whistle loudly. "You can't go down there!" he shouted, but No. 12 ignored him. The wind whipped around No. 12's domes as they left the Main Line and hurried down through the Valley Line. The narrow gauge engines below had never seen No. 12 go that fast before. Leaving the line, he made his way down to the new Mountain Line. Takao was there, working busily while Misaki was explaining the situation.  
She whistled to him, and suddenly they heard a growl and a rattle. Coming down the Ice Line was Big D, shivering miserably. Misaki eyed the long diesel over. "Big D? What were you doing up there?"  
"I just delivered my train. Man, nobody told me how cold it was up there!" Big D said.  
Misaki explained the situation to Big D. She asked him if he had seen anyone, but he hadn't. No. 12 looked up toward the sun. Time was running out, and he couldn't stand the thought of Hiro not getting his parts on time.  
"Do you think you could help us find the train?" Misaki asked him.  
Big D lowered his eyes. "Whoever took his parts should feel so ashamed of himself," he said with a low growl. "I'll do my best to find them."  
Big D roared away while Misaki stayed behind to finish the section of track with Takao. No. 12, meanwhile, hurried away back down the Main Line. He saw Hideaki and Naomi in the distance. He came to a screeching halt in front of Hideaki and his train, just as a determined looking Naomi hurried away, the coaches swaying behind her.  
"Twelve!" Hideaki's eyes lit up. "Man, am I glad to see—"  
"Did you see an engine with Hiro's parts anywhere?" No. 12's driver said suddenly.  
Hideaki blinked in surprise. "No, sorry," he said sheepishly. "Raiden was missing this morning though...but anyway, do you think you could help clear the line? Naomi took my passengers, you just have to get me and my coaches out of here. Get behind, and keep the coach's brakes off."  
No. 12 wanted to find the parts, but he knew keeping the trains running was just as important. Naomi hurried away with the passengers, while No. 12 switched over next to Hideaki. He ran around to the next switch, and came back with his bunker facing the end of Hideaki's train. They coupled him up to the faulty coach, relieving most of the brakes' pressure.  
"Ready, Twelve?" Hideaki called out. "One...two...THREE!"  
With much strain and smoke, the two engines began to pull the train. The faulty brake coach screeched and groaned, but No. 12 and Hideaki kept the train moving until they managed to pull into the Valley Station. The brakes had finally loosened during the journey, so No. 12 shunted it quickly into a siding out of the way.  
"That coach was supposed to be cut up today, wasn't it?" Hideaki asked while his Guard went into the station building. "What's it doing in my train?"  
No. 12 thought for a moment. Maybe Kenji to Mari had replaced the last coach in the train, as part of some rude prank. But he didn't have much time to dwell on those thoughts, as he remembered he still had to find the missing train. He whistled goodbye to Hideaki, and puffed off as quickly as possible.  
He pulled into the Main Station, and saw that Ryu had finally left with his train. No. 12 whistled to Katsu, and his Driver asked if he had seen anything, but Katsu hadn't. So No. 12 made his way to the Harbor instead.  
The sun was already setting by the time he got there. Rushing around the Island had taken up a lot of his time, and he still hadn't found the parts. By the time he pulled in, he could hear the ship's horn blowing. He screeched to a stop just beside it, frantically looking around for the missing parts.  
The Driver climbed out of the cab and spoke to the workmen. Then he turned to No. 12, looking grim. "No engine came here with the parts either," he said with a sigh, "and the ship's about to leave. They're not going to wait around for much longer."  
No. 12's heart sank. He wanted to go looking in other places for the parts, but he knew the ship would be long gone by the time he got back. Just at that moment, the ship's horn blasted again, and it slowly cruised away from the harbor. No. 12 could only watch it float out into the sea and vanish over the horizon, doing his best not to choke up.  
He, his Driver, and his Fireman all knew it wasn't his fault. But as No. 12 puffed away with a heavy heart, he couldn't help but feel he had let both Hiro and the Big Controller down. The responsibility had been on him to deliver the parts safe and sound, but now they were stranded, somewhere far away on Tanishima.  
It wouldn't be for over forty years before they finally heard back from Hiro, who had desperately needed the parts back then. He had begun to show his age, and unfortunately, his Controller wouldn't be able to find a single workshop in Europe that could make him work properly again. The old, wise and famous Japanese engine would work less and less until suddenly vanishing completely, his name becoming something of legend among the railwaymen of the Island of Sodor.  
No. 12, trying to reassure himself that Hiro would be fine, would have no way of knowing this until many, many years to come. For now, he puffed sadly back to the sheds, his Driver prepared to tell the Big Controller the awful news about what happened to the parts meant for the Master of the Railway.


	56. Battle for the Mountain: Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The Big Controller was horrified with the news, and had come to the Sheds that night to try to get everything sorted out. Ryu, who had been one of Hiro's closest friends, was having a hard time keeping calm.  
"I'll bet you anything it was Raiden," he muttered between his teeth. "He keeps going on and on about sending us all to the smelters..."  
"I haven't seen him at all though," Katsu said. "If he was creeping around the yards, I would've been the first to know."  
"No you wouldn't!" Naomi said. "You can go to the Works straight off the main line!"  
"I didn't see him while I was over at Keikan either," Hideaki said, looking down at the short, red engine. "So if you get told what happens on the Main Line, why didn't you know about him?"  
"He wasn't on the Branch Line either," Sora suddenly added.  
"Well that's suspiciously specific," Morning Light said. "Nobody's even mentioned the Branch Line yet."  
Sora stared at him. "You're...not accusing ME of anything, are you?"  
"Don't go blaming him!" Naomi said defensively. "Sora's been with me all day."  
The arguing dragged on until Big D finally couldn't stand it anymore. "Now just stow it, all of you!" he shouted.  
The Big Controller coughed. "Thank you, Big D," he said. "We needed that." He turned to face the silent engines. "So, here are the facts. Hideaki took the Sunlight this morning, but was delayed at a crossing. Naomi came to help him, and Twelve helped him to the Valley Station. Katsu was at the Main Station all day. Big D took his train up the Ice Line. Ryu was delayed with his goods. Takao was at the mountain line. Morning Light's been here since yesterday. And Misaki," he said, turning to face her, "I know you were with Takao this afternoon, but where were you this morning?"  
"At the coal mine, Sir," Misaki said with no hesitation.  
"Sir, if I may mention," said Big D, "the parts were the responsibility of Twelve, were they not?"  
All eyes suddenly looked toward No. 12. The little engine didn't feel so miserable anymore. Now he felt frightened.  
"Twelve..." the Big Controller said as he turned to him, "Big D has a point. I told you to go straight to the Works after the logging site, correct? You were meant to leave at twelve-thirty, and the parts were reported missing at one o'clock."  
No. 12 gulped, trying to avoid the eyes of the other engines.  
Misaki glanced over at her friend before speaking up. "He was still up logging with Shane. There was a lot of extra work that they needed to do, and Shane couldn't do it without Twelve."  
The Big Controller eyed her and No. 12 before sighing. "Very well. We'll have to investigate this more. In the meantime, I don't want any of you playing 'detective' and trying to find it on your own. We still have a railway to run."  
"Yes, Sir," the engines replied. The Big Controller nodded and walked away, taking a rag from his pocket and wiping his forehead.

Big D took the fish train to Keikan that night instead of No. 12. While he made his way down to the harbor, he stopped at a bus depot right by the Main Station, near the platform that connected to Naomi's branch line. Kin and Kuro were there, and Kin was chatting loudly.  
"I can't believe it! I stopped the Sunlight Express!" he crackled. "The fastest and most important train in Japan, stopped by one bus! It's amazing! I feel so empowered!"  
Kuro rolled his eyes and spoke to Big D, while Kin went on babbling, even though he was now talking to himself. "So he did his part of the plan. When do I do my part?" he said.  
Big D chuckled darkly. "You'll know when the time's right."  
Kuro snorted. "What's that supposed to mean? I just sit around until you pop up and tell me?"  
"I've already made the engines start to doubt each other," Big D explained. "We need time to let that grow. That mute one's going to be the first."  
Kuro frowned. "Twelve? Really?"  
"He'll be the easiest to get rid of," Big D went on. "And the faster we can get one steam engine scrapped, the quicker all the others will go. That rotten tin kettle's already about to go as it is. Have you heard how bad he clanks?"  
"I know, it's gross," Kuro said with a shudder. "I'm so glad I'm not a steamer. Still though...if they figure out what you're up to, you'll probably be sent away for good."  
Big D grinned. "They're all clueless about it," he said with a dark smirk. "By the time spring comes, they'll be scrapped before spring." And he rumbled away to the harbor, leaving Kuro watching him go, unsure if he should feel fear or admiration.

The first track up to the mountains was finished by early October, marking the official end of the Ice Line. All trains that had meant to gone up were canceled, while newer test trains, pulled by Misaki, would go up and down the new track. As the second track was still under construction, Misaki wasn't allowed to go too fast. She tried hard not to grumble about it; with Hiro's parts still missing and Oni still out of commission, complaining about one good thing being finished was the last thing on Misaki's mind.  
As the days went on, the temperature got colder, and the firelighter would come much earlier in the morning, and sometimes even hang around to take in the heat of the warm flames and steam. The grass had gone from lush green to light brown, and down on the farms near the Lower Valley Railway, crops were being harvested to prepare for the oncoming winter.  
While the second track was being built, they began to extend the Valley Station to meet the new line. People were excited for the official opening in the Spring, and some people even went to the construction site to take photographs. From north to south, Tanishima was buzzing with excitement.  
The only engine who wasn't in high spirits was No. 12. Ever since Big D's comment in the sheds, he couldn't help but feel the other engines lost some trust and respect for him. Ryu and Naomi, who were both two of Hiro's closest friends, barely spoke to him now. Even if he could speak, No. 12 doubted he could talk some sense into them. Misaki would tell No. 12 not to worry. "They're just upset, they'll be over it before you knot it," she would tell him.  
One chilly morning, No. 12 had just taken on water at the Main Station when the Stationmaster appeared. "The Foreman's called from the logging site," he said to the Driver. "They're going to need extra help today. Mr. Saenagi is going to send Big D to help out. Do you think you can lead him up there?"  
"We'll do our best," the Driver replied, but No. 12 wasn't as optimistic. He knew Big D was once Hiro's friend too, and was worried that the diesel would be cross with him too.  
But much to his relief, when Big D rolled into the station, he had a kind smile on his front. "You couldn't have helped it," he said. "You were helping out with another important job. Our responsibility is to keep the island running right?"  
No. 12 just smiled nervously. Big D crossed over the points and rolled up behind No. 12. He looked back, and noticed Big D giving a wink.  
Big D saw No. 12 glancing at him. "Just something in my eye," he said. "Now let's get going. I haven't met your friend Shane yet, I don't think."  
No. 12 whistled in reply, and soon the two engines were puffing along the line. They passed the first station, where Naomi was picking up passengers. No. 12 whistled happily to her, but she didn't whistle back. But she did whistle when Big D tooted his horn at her.  
They soon reached the notorious Forest Curve. It was a dark, curved, underground tunnel that led up to the forest. The smoke from the steam engines was always troublesome for the Drivers and Firemen, but new tracks hadn't been built. No. 12 went first through the tunnel, and Big D rumbled behind him not long after.  
They cruised through the forested countryside, and Big D couldn't help but smile. "Nicest forest I've ever seen," he said.  
They passed a level crossing and around the bend, they finally found the logging site. There were flatbeds piled high with freshly cut wood around the yard, and resting in a siding was Shane, who beamed when he saw No. 12. "Twelve, mah friend!" he chuckled. "It's good ter see yeh." His eye made its way to Big D. "An' this is th' new felleh?"  
"I'm Big D," the diesel replied. "It's a pleasure to meet you."  
Shane chuckled. "It's always nice ter meet new friends! C'mon, Ah'll show yeh around."  
As he chuffed away, Big D stared at No. 12. "What's with the eyepatch and square buffers?" he asked. "I've never seen anything like that on an engine!"  
No. 12 just grinned and followed Shane. The old steam engine let No. 12 and Big D up the line to the river bank, where freshly cut trees were cut at the sawmill, and cranes would load them onto waiting flatbeds. Almost all of the cranes were constructed from jobi wood, except for one large, metal crane right by the riverbank who had an unusual curved arm over his cab.  
This big, metal steam crane, named Goro, was the biggest and strongest of all the cranes in the forest. He was once made to work at the harbor, but despite his strength, he was not big or versatile enough to be used as much as the others. He was relocated to the logging site, where he still remains, working his hardest. The river was once used to transport logs down from the hills, as it flowed down toward the coast. Goro's job was to catch the logs before they flowed out to sea, and then load them away to be cut. But after Shane came along and a dam was built further down the river, they stopped using it and instead, Shane shunts flatbeds of logs alongside Goro, to take away for cutting.  
Goro grinned when he saw Shane arrive with Big D and No. 12. "Shane! Twelve! It's good to see you here."  
"Th' others not givin' yeh too much trouble, Ah hope?" Shane asked.  
"They were teasing," Goro replied, giving the other wooden cranes a glare, "but it's not too bad today as it usually is. Maybe if I was made of wood, I'd get more respect around here!" He laughed at the thought. "Neh, I prefer to be metal. It makes me unique, you know?"  
"Ah know what yeh mean," Shane agreed as he shunted the flatbeds of fallen trees onto the wooden platform. Goro chuffed cheerfully as he started to pick up the logs. In the meantime, Shane introduced Big D to the loggers and showed him around to the other cranes. The three were just about to head back to the yard when the Foreman came up.  
"Goro's running low on water," he said. "Could one of you go get a tanker from the Branch?"  
Big D glanced at Shane. "Why not just use the river water?"  
"Are yeh kiddin'?" Shane laughed. "There's all kinds'a fish an' bugs in there. 'e'd have a breakdown, an' that'll never do!"  
No. 12's driver volunteered. Shane decided to stay with Goro while Big D arranged the trucks. When everything was set, No. 12 hurried away to get the water tanker. He always loved cruising through the forest, the sun flashing between the tall jobi trees. He couldn't help feeling at peace. He passed the level crossing, and spotted Kuro waiting to cross. He thought nothing of it, and continued on his way.  
When No. 12 was out of sight, Kuro drove along the dirt path until he reached the sawmill and river bank. A sign beside the path read in Japanese: "Caution! Authorized vehicles only beyond this point." Kuro pretended he hadn't seen, and drove right up to the wooden ramp, where logging vehicles were supposed to wait for Goro to load them.  
Big D had only told Kuro to "mess around as much as you can, and make it look like an accident." Kuro's plan was to startle Goro, who would be in the middle of picking up logs, making him drop them into the river. But as he drove closer to Goro's cab, a workman noticed and shouted out. "Hey!" he called. "What are you doing here?"  
Kuro quickly tried to cover up his plan. "Oh, this isn't the tour route?" he said. "I was sure I was going the right—"  
Goro whistled loudly to announce that he was finished with the logs. Caught off guard, Kuro yelped in surprise and drove backwards, and he accidentally backed right into the pile of jobi logs. With a loud rumble, the pile rolled off the side of the platform, bounced right over the flatbeds, rolled down the embankment and splashed into the river below, where they began to float downstream at alarming speed.  
Everyone looked to Kuro in horror. The bus stared before grinning. "Well, that works too!" he chuckled before revving his engine. He drove backward down the path and vanished behind the trees.  
"Stop him! Call the police!" the men called out, but the foreman had other concerns.  
"The logs are going to hit the dam! We have to stop them!" He dashed to the nearest phone, and telephoned down to the goods yard on the Branch Line.

No. 12 was about to leave with the water tanker, but before he could, the Signalman scrambled to the Driver and Guard. "There's an emergency! Grab the breakdown crane right away!"  
No. 12 wasn't told what was going on, but he was quickly coupled to the breakdown train. On the flatbed that came with it, there was a large fishing net from one of the fishing boats. "Come on, Twelve!" his Driver said. "Back to the river, quickly!"  
With a blast of his whistle, No. 12 hurried away down the line. He rushed straight through the Forest Curve, and hurried his way down the line. But in the distance, he saw something on the crossing ahead. "Oh no, now what?" groaned the Driver. No. 12 screeched to a halt, and found Kuro sitting on the rails in front of him.  
"Oh hey, Twelve, can you help me out?" he said. "I've got a flat."  
No. 12's Driver was not in the mood. "You can still move!" he called out. "Get out of the way! It's an emergency!"  
"No, I can't!" Kuro said with a groan. "If I try to move, I'll just get hurt, and we'll be here even longer. We can't have that!"  
"Just get off the crossing, please!" the Driver said urgently. "We have to get up to the river, NOW!"  
"Oh please, I'm sure you can call a pickup truck or something," Kuro whimpered. But No. 12 could see the bus smirking deviously at him. He glared in response.  
"I'm sure it won't take too long!" Kuro begged. "Please, just get me somebody, anybody!"  
No. 12's Driver was less than amused. "You want somebody? We'll give you somebody." He climbed back into No. 12's cab, and started to back the whole train up.  
Kuro grinned with triumph. "Hurry please!" he said, but suddenly No. 12 and his train stopped. No. 12 smirked darkly at the bus, and his whistle blew over the treetops. He started to move forward, gathering speed.  
Kuro's eyes widened, and his engine roared into life. "I'm going, I'm going!" he cried out. He moved forward, but his rear was still right over the line when No. 12 crashed through the gate. His buffers hit the bus's rear wheel, and Kuro spun around wildly like a big black top. He nearly tipped over, but out of sheer luck, he managed to stop with all four wheels on the ground. His Driver was unhurt, but his back now looked more like a twisted lump of metal than part of a bus.  
Kuro's eyes burned with pain and fury. He glared at No. 12 as the big black engine puffed toward the curve leading to the lumber yard. "You can't stop it!" he cracked at the top of his voice. "You're going to fail, kid! Fail!"


	57. Battle for the Mountain: Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

No. 12 rushed right into the logging yard and passed Shane and Goro. "Hurry!" Goro called out to him. "Stop them before they hit the dam!"  
No. 12 raced along the river, and looked to his left to see the logs flowing just ahead of him. The rails, coated with rust from the lack of use, screeched and groaned under No. 12's wheels. His Driver pushed him to full speed. No. 12 gradually drew ahead of the logs. But they were getting closer and closer to the dam. No. 12 grit his teeth and tried to go even faster.  
But as he did so, he began to rattle and clank. His Driver was alarmed. "Careful, old boy!" he called out. "We don't need two disasters in one day!"  
No. 12 couldn't help but agree.  
The line and river parted a few miles down, so they couldn't see the runaway logs. But just up ahead, they found the dam, and No. 12's wheels squealed as he stopped. The men working there had been informed about what was happening, and No. 12 found Daichi nearby, grinning broadly, a large crate of dynamite from the military being unloaded from him.  
"What in the world..." the Fireman began.  
"Less talking, more working!" Daichi barked. "Hook your net up, quick!"  
On the other side of the river where Daichi was, there was a large crane. No. 12's Guard grabbed one end of the net and ran to the other side of the river as fast as he could, and hooked the net up to the crane. Meanwhile, No. 12 used the small junction to shunt the breakdown crane in front of him, and the Fireman hooked it up to other side of the net. Now the large fishing net stretched out across the river.  
The Driver saw the workmen wrapping some of the dynamite sticks together. "What are you doing with that?" he called out.  
"When the logs come, we're going to blow them out of the water!" Daichi said excitedly. "It's going to be awesome!"  
"No it's not!" cried the Driver. "The logs will fly up and hit us!"  
"No they won't!" Daichi laughed. "We'll just give a small blast, just to knock them apart. Together, they could knock this dam to bits, but all separated, we can just yank them from the water!"  
The Driver groaned and put his hand to his forehead. "If we survive this," he said to the Fireman, "I'm asking for a raise."  
No. 12 could hear a rumbling coming from up the river. His Driver, Fireman, Guard, and all of the men looked down and saw the torrent of jobi logs, flowing right toward the dam. "Shoot, here we go," Daichi muttered before looking over to shout at No. 12. "Brace yourself!"  
No. 12 gulped and shut his eyes just as the logs rushed past him. He felt a sudden lurch forward; the logs had hit the net, and the force had yanked No. 12 and his breakdown crane forward. The coupling creaked and groaned, as if ready to snap at any moment. No. 12 used every ounce of steam he had to keep himself from moving forward any further.  
From across the river, he heard Daichi shouting something, but the river was roaring against the logs and net; No. 12 couldn't hear a word. He opened one eye to see a man putting a small box between the logs, and rushing back to the riverbank as quickly as he could. The breakdown crane groaned, the front wheels lifting off the rails.  
The last thing No. 12 heard was somebody shouting "TAKE COVER!"  
There was a sudden rocking blast that made the earth beneath No. 12's wheels rumble. The net vanished while the jobi logs flew up in random directions. Some flew up into the fields out of view, some landed on the rails, and others landed right onto the riverbank. When No. 12 finally got around to opening his eyes, only a few logs had remained in the river, harmlessly bumping up against the dam.  
The men cautiously crawled from their hiding spots. Daichi opened his eyes and looked around at the scattered lumber. There was dead silence at first, save for the sounds of the river flowing freely. The silence gradually turned into a chorus of cheers from both the dam workmen and No. 12's crew. Exhausted but relieved, No. 12 let out a huge sigh of steam.  
After a few minutes of celebration, the workmen began to clean up the wreckage. They used the two cranes to collect the logs, while No. 12 hurried back to the lumber yard to find flatbeds. When he reached Goro and Shane, his Driver told the whole story while No. 12 took on plenty of water.  
"It was that same bus who knocked the logs over!" Goro said.  
"Was it?" the Driver said. "What was it doing here in the first place?"  
"No idea," Goro sighed, "but he caused more trouble than any of us needed. Why, if I see him again, he'd better hope I'm already carrying something, or I might just toss him into the river myself!"  
"Nah, nah, no need fer that," laughed Shane. "Ah'm sure the Big Controller'll get everythin' sorted out."  
No. 12 smiled in agreement.  
"I just noticed though," Goro said, "what ever happened to that big brown guy?"  
"Big D?" Shane asked. He glanced over to the yard, where Big D was arranging trucks earlier. "Now that ye' mention it," he said, "Ah didn' see 'im go. Where'd he go off ter?"  
"He didn't run away from helping with this, did he?" Goro huffed crossly. "Why, I oughta..."  
"Tha's enough!" chuckled Shane. "Ah'm sure 'e'll turn up. Not often yeh have ter deal with disasters 'round here. Poor guy was prob'ly scared ou' 'his frames!"

"...listen, I'm not responsible for... well I...don't talk to me like that!...That has to be the biggest joke of a lawsuit I've ever..."  
Mr. Saenagi didn't get another word out before the man in charge of the branch line's bus depot hung up the phone. Elbows on his desk, he leaned forward with his head in his hands, exhausted and miserable. A knock came at his door, and his butler stepped in. "Problem, Sir?" he asked.  
Mr. Saenagi looked up at him from over his hands, and then stood up. "It's one thing after another," he sighed. "Twelve's working up at the forest, and next thing I know, we're being sued because he crashed into a bus. And now we've lost several thousand yen worth of logs, and now we owe the military money for using their dynamite. I didn't even authorize that! This never ends..."  
The butler pondered for a moment. "Well it can't get much worse than it is now, right?" he asked nervously.  
The phone rang again. The two men looked down at it with grim expressions. The butler quietly stepped from the room, and closed the door behind him. He stood around at the door, waiting quietly to hear what was going on. When he finally heard the phone hang up, he peered into the room. Never before in his life had he seen such a miserable looking man.  
"That was a funding representative from the Mainland," Mr. Saenagi said. "They're going to cut back funding on the mountain line. Because of 'questionable railway management practices', they say."  
The butler stared in shock. "Well, it still can't get any—"  
"It does. They want to see how the railway's run, first-hand, and want to ensure we make better 'railway management decisions'."  
He looked up at his butler, his hand curling into a fist. "They...they want to send a replacement for me."

Big D was having a great evening. He had slipped away from the lumber yard and went to Keikan Island. He had got to see the scrap and smelting yards for the very first time. Mari was kind enough to show him around, and he offered her plenty of words of advice. He was coming back through the Main Line with cargo from the Mainland, and he was humming a little tune to himself.  
He pulled to a stop at the Main Station, waiting for the line ahead to clear. On the platform was an unfamiliar man he had never seen before. He was short with a black suit, and had a small mustache. He had small glasses and an obvious toupee. He looked ugly, but distinguished.  
"Hello there, and who might you be?" he asked Big D.  
"I'm Big D, the newest diesel around these parts. And you?"  
"I am Norio Komatsu. I will be the Controller of your railway while your previous controller is...erm...on vacation."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Due to recent reports, we've been concerned about how things are run around here, and we would like to investigate and see for ourselves. I will only be in control for a short while, so I hope I can learn much about the Upper Valley Railway while I'm here."  
"I see," Big D said with a sly smile.  
"Now," the Temporary Controller said, "I was wondering if you could be of assistance to me."  
"Oh? How so, Sir?"  
"There was an incident this morning at the Jobi Lumber Center. We can't get in touch with anybody up there; they say they're too busy, and they've closed off road and rail access. Do you think you can explain to us what happened?"  
Big D smirked darkly. "Oh, why yes, Sir. I can tell you everything you need to know."

No. 12 was exhausted beyond relief.  
After helping clean up the lumber yard, he had to take goods down to the coast, and then bring supplies up to the mountain line before arranging trucks in the yard. For the whole day, the trucks joked and sang, and even outright refusing to cooperate with him. He barely made time, and it was late by the time all of his work was finished.  
More than anything, he was looking forward to a rest in the sheds. His Driver wanted to talk to the Big Controller and tell him about what had happened. "I'll tell the other engines about it too," he said kindly to No. 12. "They'll all be proud of you for being a hero. Maybe that'll cheer you up, eh?"  
No. 12 made a face. He never liked the idea of bragging. His Driver laughed. No. 12 then watched the building and trees pass him by as he cruised his way down to the sheds.  
His clattered over the turntable and pulled slowly into the sheds. But when he came inside, he found that all of the engines were there waiting for him. Everyone was glaring at him, save for Misaki who looked away nervously; and Big D, who was parked in No. 12's usual spot and looked more upset than cross.  
Standing in the center of the engines was a strange little man that No. 12 had never seen before. "So you're the troublemaker around here," the man said.  
No. 12's Driver climbed from the cab. "Troublemaker? Who are you to...?"  
"My name is Norio Komatsu. I'm in charge while your previous controller is temporarily relieved from duties."  
The Driver was stunned. "What's going on?"  
"Mr. Saenagi," Mr. Komatsu explained, "has been found to be practicing faulty railway codes of conduct, especially when it comes to..." his eyes looked up to No. 12. "...this engine here." He said the words as if saying "Twelve" would make him puke.  
"Just what are you talking about?" the Driver said crossly.  
Mr. Komatsu held up his notepad. "Your railway's currently facing a lawsuit because this engine intentionally crashed into a bus that was driving over the level crossing," he explained. "And on counts of knocking logs into the nearby river and blowing them up with—"  
"WHAT? We never—!"  
"You will NOT interrupt me when I'm talking!" bellowed Mr. Komatsu angrily.  
No. 12 was equally shocked. He stared at the other engines in bewilderment and disbelief.  
"We ALL saw what you did to Kuro," Ryu said. "He was dragged right to the Main Station."  
"How could you do that?" Hideaki asked.  
"I know Kuro's not friendly to us, but..." Naomi was saying.  
"You're not going to hit ME next, are you?" Sora asked.  
"Now the Mainland's not going to fund the mountain line. We'll never get it done," Morning Light said crossly.  
"Yeah, way to go, Twelve," Katsu spat.  
No. 12 felt himself going pale. He glanced desperately to Big D and Misaki.  
But instead of helping, Big D added to Mr. Komatsu's talking. "I can't understand it at all, Sir," he said in a sorrowful tone. "To really think Twelve, of all the engines, would act out like this. It's a scandal, truly."  
The other engines muttered in agreement. No. 12 was on the verge of tears. With pleading eyes, he looked toward Misaki while the two men continued to argue.  
"Twelve, I..." she glanced at him nervously. She knew, better than anyone, that No. 12 would never do anything like this. But she didn't know how to prove it. "I...I don't know...I'm sorry..."  
No. 12 went rigid, as if he was frozen to the rails. Mr. Komatsu cleared his throat.  
"It's settled then," he said crossly. "You, until your Controller comes back, you'll be working by the coal mines, away from the other engines. We don't need you causing us any more trouble."  
The Driver had enough. "How dare you—!"  
"ONE MORE WORD from you and I will FIRE you from where you stand!" Mr. Komatsu snapped. The Driver, still red in the face, walked angrily back toward his engine.  
No. 12 gave the rest of the engines one last desperate look before slowly backing out of the shed and into the freezing autumn night. He waited until the sheds were far, far away from view before he broke down in tears.

No. 12 had no idea where he was. Everything around him was black, and even the sky was filled with such dark clouds that not a single beam of sunlight could shine through. Through the mist, he could see Mount Saiji towering over him, much bigger and intimidating than he could remember.  
He wanted to move, to find a warm shed to hide in, but his cab was empty and his fire was out. He stood, cold and alone, hoping somebody would come for him.  
In the distance, he caught sight of what looked like a lamp, glowing through the mist, steadily coming closer and closer. For a brief moment, he felt hope. But just as he had cracked a smile, he heard something echo around him that made him shudder from funnel to footplate. It was the blast of a loud, low horn that made him think of a wounded, dying animal.  
The mist around the light turn a deep shade of crimson. As the light grew closer and closer, he could make out the shape of a tall, black diesel, its body covered in chunks of scrap metal and its front covered in a pointed cowcatcher. All at once, he realized he was face-to-face with the Razor Train. The sky rumbled with thunder, and the red mist swirled around No. 12. He shut his eyes, still wet with the tears he had cried through the night.  
There was a blinding flash of light, but No. 12 still found himself on the rails. He opened his eyes to see that the Razor Train had stopped. In front of him, another entity had appeared. It shone with a bright gold and gave a defiant, beautiful whistle.  
"Away with you!" a voice called. "It's not his time! Away with you, demon train!"  
A blast of red smoke burst from under the razor train, like a beast snarling in anger.  
"I said GO!" the voice cried out again.  
The Razor Train rumbled as if in fury. It backed away from the gold engine, and switched onto the other track. No. 12 watched the engine from his nightmares rush by. It had no face, and behind it, it pulled countless tall, black trucks. He watched it until it vanished from view. His eyes steadily gazed towards the glowing gold entity.  
He heard a small, girlish chuckle. "No need to thank me," it said. "He can be a handful. But it's not your time to see me yet, is it?"  
No. 12 was dumbfounded. The voice giggled again. "Don't you worry," it said kindly. "You'll see me again when it's time. For now though...you should wake up."  
And just as it had finished speaking, No. 12 found himself back in the coal yard. Save for the trucks, he was completely alone; his Driver and Fireman had gone home.  
He looked up at the full moon. The sight helped to calm and comfort him before his eyes looked back over the landscape. Illuminated by the moon stood Mount Saiji, and over the cold winds of the night, he could hear the wolves howling. He closed his eyes and listened to their cries as he drifted back to sleep.


	58. Intermission: Escape, Part 1

**Escape from Keikan Island  
A Valley Railway Series Special  
Written By: GeebMachine  
Edited by Nanaki**

(This takes place Book 11: Hideaki the New Engine and Battle for the Mountain. As for the story within the story, it takes place in Book 4: Katsu the Mine Engine, between the second and third story.)

**Part 1: A Visit Gone Wrong**

Hideaki, the new engine, was beginning to enjoy his life on the Upper Valley Railway. Ever since his encounter with Raiden and the Scrap Shunters - Mari, Kenji, and Toki -, he was doing his best to prove that he was a Really Useful Engine.

One day, after taking a long train to the other side of the island, Hideaki was taking a rest, as he waited for No.12 to get his next train ready. Katsu steamed up beside him, after he finished arranging Ryu's express. He looked at the long train.  
"Wow," he wheeshed. "Big train you got there. Where's it going?"  
"Keikan Island," Hideaki replied.  
"You better watch yourself there," Katsu advised.  
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Hideaki replied with a smirk. "Watch out for those 'scary little diesels'. Come on, Katsu. I've stood up to them, and they backed away. What's the worse they could do?"  
"Drag you away, and then scrap you," Katsu replied, with a stern look on his face.  
"Scrap on owned engine?" Hideaki scoffed. "Oh please, like they could get away with that."  
"They've done it to countless mainland engines," Katsu replied coldly. "And they almost did it to me."  
Hideaki's mood suddenly changed. "Really?" he asked, as he tried to suppress a shiver. "How'd they almost get you?"  
Katsu looked at his buffers, and took a deep breath. "I'm going to have to start at the beginning," he said solemnly.

Work at the Wild Rock Mining Company had finally come to an end for little Katsu. But that didn't worry him, because the Big Controller had heard about his predicament, and wanted to bring him to his railway for trials.  
Right now, he had just finished helping prepare the mine for the Narrow Gauge Railway. He was taking the tired workmen to the Slate Mine Station, at the end of the line, so they could catch the next train on the narrow gauge line home. He wanted to take them all the way to the Big Station, but due to his size, he couldn't hold much coal or water to make the trip on his own.

When he arrived, Hiro was there, having just finished with his Express run. "Hello Katsu," he whistled. "How are you doing?"  
"Fine, I guess," Katsu sighed. "I'm really going to miss that old place."  
"Well, look at it this way," Hiro said reassuringly. "At least you'll get to live with other engines that'll look after you. Maybe the Big Controller will buy you."  
"Yeah, I hope," replied Katsu. "Well, I gotta get to the sheds, as soon as I can get some coal and water."  
"I'm afraid you won't be able to," said Katsu's driver, who was walking back to the platform.  
"Why not?" asked Katsu's fireman.  
"The water tower is out of order, and there's barely anything in the coal bin," replied the driver.  
"Well if that doesn't punch a hole in the boat," Katsu huffed. "Can't we go back to the mine?"  
"Sorry Katsu," replied his driver. "I'm afraid we don't have enough to get you there and then all the way to the sheds."  
"I can take you to the station on my island, across the bridge," Hiro offered. "There's plenty of coal and water there to get where you need to go."  
After everyone said "thank you", Katsu was coupled up in front of Hiro, just as Morning Light pulled into the station. After the passengers climbed aboard, and the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag, Hiro and Katsu slowly pulled out of the station and they were on their way to Hiro's home, Keikan Island.

It was evening when two engines arrived. They made good time, as they slowly pulled into the Keikan Island Station.  
"Right on time, as usual," said Hiro's driver.  
Hiro felt very pleased with himself. But Katsu, on the other hand, felt very tired, for he had never gone that fast before. Hiro kindly moved the little mine engine into a siding, where there stood a full coal bin and a fully-operating water tower.  
"Take as much as you like," Hiro said warmly. "Just so you know I'm going to be taking a goods train to your island, later this evening. I could give you a lift back, if you like."  
"That'll be most appreciated," Katsu's driver replied. "Thank you, Hiro."  
"In that case, feel free to explore my humble home," said Hiro. "But stay away from the scrapyard. Strange and creepy things happen there during the night."  
"Thanks," Katsu replied, feeling somewhat nervous, "but that run kind of wore me out."  
After a brief "farewell", and a promise, Hiro steamed away to get some rest before his next train was ready. And after Katsu had gotten his fill of coal and water, he slowly drifted off to sleep. His driver left to get some refreshments, while the fireman stayed behind, and eventually fell asleep, as well.  
Unbeknownst to them, however, they were being watched. Two pairs of shifty eyes were watching them, with interest, from a shadowy siding. They were a pair of diesel shunters.  
"Well," said one, "what do you make of it?"  
"Looks like he's ready to fall apart," replied the other. "Did you see how Hiro was pushing him?"  
"I'm not sure, Kenji," replied the first diesel. "He looks tired. And they just gave him some coal and water, too."  
"Probably as a last meal," Kenji chuckled deviously. "Why else would they bring him here? Let's get him."  
"But we didn't even get permission!" the first diesel objected. "What would Master say?"  
"Must you always be a goody-two-wheels, Toki?" Kenji growled, barring his teeth, which revealed his gold fang. "That steamer's old and worn out and his crew left him! That should say something! Now come on, and if I hear one more objection from you, I'll make sure Master scraps you next!"  
Toki shuddered nervously, as Kenji's engine started up, and he rolled out of their hiding place. Toki followed behind him.  
"Um, Kenji," Toki whispered.  
"What?" Kenji growled.  
"I don't have two wheels. I have four."  
Kenji rolled his eyes as he sighed out of annoyance.

Later that evening, Hiro was steaming down the line, with his goods train, on his way to the Big Railway on Tanishima. But as he approached Keikan Island Station, he saw that the signal was down and red. Hiro's driver applied the brakes and they slowly came to a stop before the platform.  
"That's strange," said Hiro, as he eyed the signal. "There isn't another train scheduled to come in, is there?"  
"I don't know," replied his driver. "I'll check with the stationmaster."  
But just as he was climbing down from Hiro's cab, the driver saw a man came running towards them, in a very frantic manner. He immediately recognized him to be Katsu's driver.  
"Thank goodness, you haven't left yet!" Katsu's driver panted.  
"Whatever is the matter?" Hiro's driver asked.  
"It's Katsu," the driver replied wearily.  
"Katsu?" Hiro repeated. Then he brightened. "Oh! I almost forgot about him," he chuckled. "We better work fast, if we're going to make it on time."  
"You'll have to work faster than that," Katsu's driver replied, still panicky, "because he's gone!"  
"Gone?" replied Hiro. "What do you mean, gone?"  
"He's gone! Missing! Vanished! He just disappeared into thin air!" Katsu's driver continued, now shouting frantically.  
"Calm down, calm down!" said Hiro's driver. "Now, where's the fireman? Would he know?"  
"Gone, too," Katsu's driver replied, as he started to calm down. "He was in the cab, last time I saw him."  
"Do you think they probably went exploring?" Hiro asked hopefully.  
"I'm afraid not," replied Katsu's driver. "He's fairly new, and barely knows how to run Katsu."  
Just then, the signalman came out.  
"Come on, move along now," he said. "Ryu's waiting to come in with his special and you either need to get into a siding, or be on your way."  
"Not until we find Katsu," replied Katsu's driver.  
"Katsu? Who's he?" asked the signalman.  
"A small, red, mine engine," Hiro explained. "He's a friend of mine from Tanishima. I brought him here so he could fill up on coal and water."  
The signalman's face suddenly brightened up. "Oh, that engine," he said. "I saw shunters 2 and 3 move him somewhere else, along with some trucks."  
Hiro's face suddenly went hard. "2 and 3?" he asked slowly.  
"From the scrapyard," replied the signalman. "Why?"  
Everyone's face, except the signalman's, suddenly wore an expression of horror, as they stared at each other.


	59. Intermission: Escape, Part 2

**Part 2: Scrapyard Escape**

Katsu blinked. And then blinked again, hoping what he saw wasn't there. Everywhere he looked, he saw piles of twisted metal, wheels that were covered in rust and boilers that were once part of a prosperous engine. Another thing that was more prominent was the reddish glow about the place. Yes, there was no denying it. He was in a scrapyard.  
"How did I ever wind up in a place like this?" he wondered.  
He thought back to when he was being filled with coal and water. He heard his driver saying something to his fireman about, "getting a bite to eat". Then he fell asleep. The next thing he remembered, or somewhat remembered, was something being buffered in front of him. It was big and black… or was it gray? Anyways, it was too blurry to tell, and just figured it was Hiro coming to take him back home.  
That wasn't it.  
Just then, he felt something climbing off of him. He shuddered slightly, and dreaded to think what it was. He closed his eyes tightly.  
"Where in the world are we?" said a voice.  
Katsu slowly opened his eye, and saw his fireman rubbing the back of his head. "In a scrapyard," said Katsu. "How are you?"  
"Must've hit my head on something," replied the fireman, as he looked at his surroundings. "How long have I been out?"  
Before Katsu could say anything, they suddenly heard an unfamiliar humming of an engine coming towards them. It was a small diesel shunter. She had four small wheels, was painted black with yellow hazard stripes, and had the number 1 painted in yellow on the sides of her cab, which was right in the middle of her. The diesel came to a stop, right next to the siding that Katsu was in. She looked them over, a small smile on her face.  
"Oh, why hello there. Is something the matter?" she asked coolly.  
Katsu and the fireman looked at each other.  
"What do you make of it?" Katsu whispered nervously.  
"Well, it wouldn't hurt to give it a try," his fireman replied quietly. Then he looked to the diesel. "Um, yes," he coughed slightly. "There seems to have been some sort of mistake." Then he explained the situation.  
The diesel rolled her eyes. "It seems I'm going to have to have a little talk with those two. They're so quick to jump to conclusions. Don't worry, dear, you'll be out of here in no time. And if you need anything else," she added, as she started back up, "just let me know."  
"Well, I would like to know where the exit is," said Katsu.  
But she was already gone. Katsu looked over to his fireman, puzzled.  
"That was a little… well… weird," he said lamely.  
"At least she offered her services," replied the fireman, trying to sound a little reassuringly.  
"I'm not too sure about that," Katsu said nervously. "I've never been one to trust diesels, especially from what Ryu's been telling me."  
"What does he say?"  
"He says that the reason why these diesels are popping up everywhere is because they're going to replace steam engines," said Katsu.  
"Now Katsu," his fireman said reassuringly, "I highly doubt that will ever…"  
Then he stopped. He saw something that made him freeze up. Katsu nervously followed his gaze, until he saw… a face. A face that was part of a steam engine's boiler, and it was sticking out of the pile that was next to them. It looked at them, covered in bruises and dirt. It looked as if it was struggling to speak, before a single word crept from its lips.  
"Run."  
Katsu and his fireman shrieked with horror.

"So Mari, I say we should put that midget steamer next to the Smelter's shed," Kenji barked. "That's where he'll end up anyway!"  
"You forget, 'Goldfang'," Mari snarled, "that the furnace still needs to be fixed, and there's already a line. Can't you think of something better?"  
"Well, I don't hear you coming up with something 'better'!" Kenji snapped.  
The Scrap Shunters, Mari, Kenji, and Toki, were discussing - more like arguing - about where to put Katsu, so that he could become their newest addition to their ever-increasing scrap-heap. Toki eventually broke up the squabbling.  
"Why not put him in that one spot, where that old tank engine was?" he said.  
Kenji was about ready to yell at him, until Mari stopped him.  
"You know, Toki," she said calmly, "for someone that isn't really bright, I think you may have solved our little dilemma."  
"Gee, thanks," Toki replied bashfully.  
"Well, I'm glad that our 'little dilemma' is fixed," Kenji snarled sarcastically, "but talking about still it isn't getting the job done!"  
"Then get going!" Mari snapped.  
Immediately, Kenji and Toki sped away, as fast as their little wheels could carry them. And Mari followed them, muttering under her breath.

It took some time to get back to where they had left Katsu, mostly because it was Toki who suggested that he and Kenji should put him in that one siding, where no one would find him.  
"You're right about one thing though," Kenji said to him, "no one can find him. Not even us!"  
But when they did arrive at the siding, all they did was just stare at it.  
"Well, here's the siding," Mari huffed. "But where's the engine?"  
Sure enough, the siding that was once occupied was now empty.  
"Are you sure this is the right spot, Toki?" Kenji growled nervously.  
"Am pretty sure it is," replied Toki, "because I remember you almost shoving me into that siding, before I was uncoupled from that engine."  
Kenji rolled his eyes. "Dunder-head," he muttered quietly.  
"Well, he isn't here now," said Mari, still trying to maintain her cool, "so where is he?"  
"Gone," said a voice. "Gone like the snows of yesteryear."  
The diesels looked around, and saw a broken engine sitting next to the empty siding. Mari stared knowingly at the engine. The engine stared back.  
"And how is that so?" she asked coldly.  
"He had something I didn't, when you serpents dragged me here," the engine replied, as he smiled weakly.  
"And what was that?" Mari snarled.  
"He had part of his crew," the engine replied triumphantly.  
Kenji and Toki looked at each other in sudden horror, as Mari shot them a glare.  
"I thought you said his crew abandoned him, Kenji," she growled.  
"But they did! I-I mean, I thought they, no, I mean, uh," Kenji stuttered nervously.  
"YOU IDIOTS!" Mari snarled. "Now we've got a steamer loose in the yard!"  
Kenji and Toki stared nervously at her, shuddering slightly.  
"What are you still standing there for?" Mari growled. "FIND HIM!"  
Instantly, their engines spluttered to life, and the three furious diesels roared away.  
"You're never going to find him," the engine wheezed. "He's probably already long gone!" Then he added quietly; "I hope."

Meanwhile, Katsu was having a terrible time. Not only was he trying to get out of the scrapyard undetected, he had a fireman that couldn't make up his mind about stopping or going. So, as a result, Katsu kept finding himself bouncing and rattling loudly, whenever he was stopping abruptly.  
"You know the object of this escape, is that we're supposed to be as quiet as possible!" Katsu whispered hoarsely to his fireman.  
"I know, and I'm sorry," the fireman replied. "I'm still learning and I'm just as nervous as you."  
Soon, it wasn't too long until they arrived at what looked like the entrance. They looked cautiously around, making sure that no one was watching. Then everything happened at once. One moment, he found himself charging towards the entrance, and then he swerved into a siding just before it. Already going full speed, Katsu's fireman could see the buffers approaching fast. He applied the brakes, but it was too late. Katsu smashed through the buffers, and into a pile of scrap that was behind it. They were still on the rails, so the fireman tried to reverse Katsu out of the scrap, but it was no use.  
"Thought you get away, did you?" said a cold voice.  
Katsu shivered and peered out of the pile. He could see Mari, Kenji, and Toki approaching the siding, all wearing a devilish grin.  
"It's the end of the line steamer!" Toki cackled, as he began to laugh maniacally.  
Toki's laughter made Katsu and his fireman shudder with fright, as the diesel closed in on them.  
"Any last words, steamer?" Mari asked, as she smiled devilishly.  
"Goodbye," Katsu sobbed to his fireman, as he closed his eyes and prepared himself for the worse.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"  
Katsu jumped, and his eyes snapped open. He looked and saw that the diesels had stopped, their faces went white with horror and they were shuddering uncontrollably.  
"Look!" Katsu's fireman cried. "It's Hiro!"  
Sure enough, Hiro emerged from a cloud of steam and came to a stop right at the entrace. Katsu's driver jumped out of Hiro's cab, and ran towards them.  
"Are you two all right?" he asked.  
"Yes," Katsu's fireman replied still feeling jittery.  
After that, Katsu and Hiro's crews went to work getting Katsu back on the rails. In the meantime, Hiro stared hard at the Scrap Shunters.  
"Hiro, Hiro, Hiro," Mari chuckled nervously. "You don't really think we were going to scrap him, did you?"  
"Yeah, come on," Kenji joined in, biting his lip with his fang. "We were just showing him around!"  
Toki blinked. "Huh? That's not what you—"  
"Shut up, Toki," Kenji snarled.  
"I'll deal with you three later," he said sternly.  
When Katsu was safely back on the rails, he reversed until he was coupled to Hiro. The two steam engines slowly puffed away. Toki watched them go, before noticing Mari and Kenji had reversed back to their shed. He scrambled behind them.  
"If we were showing him around, we coulda showed him our shed!" he said. "Oh! And those trucks Kenji wrecked that one time! Or—"  
"SHUT UP, TOKI!" Mari and Kenji snapped together.

"After that," Katsu concluded, "we made a quick run for the Big Station here, since it was very late. The Big Controller was waiting for us, and he didn't seem very pleased. But after we explained what had happened, he was very forgiving. And the rest is history."  
Hideaki just stared at him in bewilderment.  
"Whoa," he sighed heavily. "I didn't know they were that capable of doing such things!"  
"You'd be very surprised," replied Katsu, then he added solemnly; "Just like that other engine was."  
"Anyways, whatever happened to him?" Hideaki asked.  
"I don't really know," Katsu replied. "But I dread to even think about it."  
Hideaki looked at his buffers. "I'm sorry about that," he said, embarrassed.  
"Anyways, I did learn something from that experience," said Katsu. "Be careful about who you put your trust in."  
Just then No.12 arrived, whistling cheerfully.  
"Your trains ready to go," said his driver.  
"Come along boy," said Hideaki driver, as he climbed into his cab.  
After the engines said "goodbye" to each other, Hideaki steamed away, realizing that he was not only becoming a Really Useful Engine, but a Really Wise Engine every day. He smiled to himself, whistling goodbye to Katsu as he sped away down the Main Line.


	60. Battle for the Mountain: Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Every day, the little narrow gauge engines who worked at the coal mine would try to reassure No. 12 that everything would turn out okay. Often, No. 12 would see Smudger, who had heard about everything from word of mouth and thought it was all ridiculous. "How can they blame you?" he asked crossly. "I hope they find the real jerk responsible."  
No. 12 couldn't help but agree. He spent his days shunting coal trucks under the hoppers, and once they were filled, he would arrange the trains into sidings for the other engines to collect. When they came to get their train, they never spoke to, or even looked at, No. 12.  
The days seemed to drag on. No. 12 was soon covered from funnel to footplate in coal dust, and his wheels groaned and creaked miserably. His lining and number were once a nice, shining gold, but now they were impossible to see under the grime. He longed badly for a wash down, and his Driver understood, but the temporary Controller had implemented new limitations. His Driver was outraged when he got the memo.  
"Only three engines by the Controller's choosing may be washed down once a month?" the Driver read, scowling. "What kind of nonsense is this?"  
"He's not a real Controller," the Fireman said. "He was supposed to study how our railway runs before doing anything, but he's just doing whatever the Mainland tells him."  
"It makes me wonder how the others are getting on," sighed the Driver. Just then, they heard a rumble of thunder. The two men and No. 12 glanced up at the clouds.  
"Think it'll snow?" the Fireman asked.  
"Nope, not yet," the Driver said. "It'll probably start next month, give or take."  
The two men climbed back into the cab. It was only a few minutes before the cold rain came down. No. 12 shuddered miserably as it covered his boiler. He longed for a warm shed; the coal mine didn't have any shelter for the big engines anymore.  
The work was finished by the end of the hour, but by then, the rain had turned into a downpour. Workmen scrambled into their building to get dry. No. 12 parked next to the platform, shivering. His Driver and Fireman saw that the foreman was waving to them from the window, gesturing for them to come inside.

The Upper Valley Railway had never been quite the same since No. 12 had left. The engines were in a sour mood, thanks to the temporary Controller, who they now called the "Temp". They thought him a strange but likeable fellow at first, but it quickly became apparent that he knew nothing about the Island or its railways, and showed no respect for any of the engines.  
Instead of talking to the engines' crews, he would post memos at the stations and sheds. When he wanted rides to different stations, he would just jump into one of the coaches, and then hop off when he found where he wanted to be. He never thanked the Guard for letting him ride, or the engine for taking him.  
When anything went wrong with any of the trains, his automatic response was to "find another engine". This usually ended up being Big D, who the Temp had taken a liking to. In one memo he wrote, he told the Drivers, "Big D is the pride of the line. Make your engines act more like him!"  
The night before at the sheds, Big D complained about it to the others. "It's so annoying," he grumbled. "I'm flattered that he thinks of me as being a grand engine, but I wish he would stop."  
"A Controller should never pick favorites," Takao agreed. "Our REAL Controller saw us as a team."  
"He doesn't even listen to us," Ryu said. "Morning Light still can't work because he needs to go to the Works. I've tried telling the Temp, but..."  
Sora, the branch line railbus, suddenly grinned. "I've got an idea," he said. "He keeps hopping on when I'm doing my runs. Naomi, can you take my passengers?"  
Naomi blinked. "Yeah, Sora, of course. What's your plan?"  
"Wait and see," Sora said with a chuckle.

Sora had a good word with his Driver, who spoke to the Signalman, and the plan was set. In the morning, typically Naomi picks up the passengers from the Main Station, and Sora comes later to collect the loggers. This time, however, Naomi stayed behind, with two coaches trailing behind her. She and her Driver explained to the confused loggers that Sora was doing an important job, and that Naomi would be taking them to work.  
Naomi left on time, and half an hour later, Sora rolled up to the platform. The Temp was there, and climbed inside. He peered around the empty railbus. "Strange," he said to himself. But he shrugged it off and sat down at the rear of the bus. He looked out the window and watched patiently for loggers to come on board.  
But none came. After only a few minutes of waiting, Sora's door closed and he rolled out of the station. He tooted as he passed the points, and instead of going onto the branch line, he began to cruise down the Main Line.  
The Temp didn't notice until he saw Ryu rushing by. Surprised, he stood up and walked toward the Driver. "Excuse me," he said, "but it looks like there was a mistake..."  
The Driver grinned. "Oh no, Sir, there isn't any mistake at all!" he laughed. "See?" He reached down and handed the Temp a timetable, showing that he was scheduled for a "special run".  
The Temp was alarmed. "I didn't authorize this! What's going on? Stop this bus immediately!"  
"Sorry Sir," the Driver replied, "but there's no stopping on the Main Line. You should know that."  
"I...I knew that," the Temp huffed while adjusting his tie. "But I demand that you turn around and take me back!"  
"No going backwards either," the Driver said, as if not even listening.  
The Temp glared at him. He looked back to Sora's doors, as if thinking of jumping out, but instead confined himself to the nearest seat. "I...erm..." He thought of a way to save face. "I must have arranged for this last night, and simply forgotten."  
"Sure you did, Sir," chuckled the Driver.  
It wasn't long before they pulled in to the sheds. Sora parked right in the center, and the Temp walked out to find Morning Light looking down at him. The big engine's crew stepped forward.  
"This," the Driver started, "is the biggest and fastest engine on the whole line. He's made our express famous."  
"Oh, is he?" The Temp looked at the unusual engine. "So why is he locked up in this shed?"  
"We need to take him to the Works before he can pull anything," the Fireman said. "He's... a special case."  
The Temp frowned, rubbing his chin. "And another engine can't do it?"  
"Other engines have tried, but none of them match our one and only Morning Light." The Driver leaned on the buffer. "He's simply the best there is."  
The Temp looked up at Morning Light again, and then glanced over to Sora. "Interesting," he murmured to himself.  
"What is?" asked the Driver.  
The Temp looked up. "Oh, nothing..." He cleared his throat, adjusting his tie. "Fine, your engine shall go to your works straight away. And no more weird hijacking pranks. Now then, if you'd please..."

Sora took the Temp back to the Main Station, while Misaki arrived and brought Morning Light to the Works. Ji Yeon was still there, grinning when she saw Misaki shunt Morning Light into the building. "Misaki!" she called out. "Guess who's back!"  
"Hey, wha—" Misaki started, but was rudely interrupted by a loud whistle right beside her. Startled, she jumped back to look at who was there...only to see Oni, grinning broadly, on the narrow rails beside her.  
"Oni!" Misaki and Morning Light cried.  
"Well who were you expecting, the Flying Scotsman?" Oni laughed. "Yup, I'm back, and I feel great!"  
"Flying who?" Ji Yeon asked.  
Misaki explained to her who the Flying Scotsman was while the workmen prepared Morning Light for his examinations. Once the big engine was prepared, he spoke to Oni. "So what is it that Twelve did to you?" he asked.  
"Well he came in and..." Oni started, before realizing what Morning Light just said. "Whoa, wait, what?" he asked.  
"Twelve's been causing a lot of problems lately," Morning Light explained. "He knocked over logs into the river, lost Hiro's parts, and crashed into Kuro at a level crossing."  
"Oh man, I would've loved to see that!" Oni said enthusiastically. "I've been waiting for some kind of big accident to happen! Do they have what's left of Kuro? I wanna see!"  
Misaki couldn't help but chuckle. "Haven't changed at all, have you, Oni?"  
"So because of all that," Morning Light said, "we figured he did something to you too..."  
"Jeez, which end of your cab am I talking to?" Oni snorted. "Twelve can't even talk! How is he supposed to have done anything to me?"  
Morning Light stared. "So who was the one who hurt you?" he asked.  
Oni frowned. "I dunno," he sighed. "I was so mad, my memory's kinda off...all I know is that it was big, stupid, ugly diesel."  
"A big diesel...was it Raiden?" Morning Light asked.  
"How should I know? I never saw the guy before!" Oni huffed. "The guy said some nasty things about steam engines, that's for sure."  
Misaki thought for a moment. "Didn't Hideaki say Raiden's been missing?"  
"No, he said he wasn't around the day Hiro's parts went missing," Morning Light clarified.  
"You don't think he's up to something...?"  
"You should ask those buses about it!" Oni said.  
"Huh? Why?"  
That's when Morning Light remembered. "Hey Misaki, the day Hiro's parts went missing...why was the Sunlight Express delayed?"  
"Hideaki got stopped at a..." Misaki started, before it dawned on her. "...there was a bus on the crossing, and it was broken down!"  
"And we only know two buses personally, right?" Oni said. "Kuro and Kin."  
Morning Light paused. "And both times Twelve's gotten into trouble..."  
Misaki thought for a bit, before her eyes lowered into a glare. "They're up to something."

Kin and Kuro had returned from their builder on the Mainland. The two were now fully repaired and ready to go back to work. They were on flatbeds on Ryu's goods train, and as they cruised toward their destination, they watched the scenery race by. The two were feeling very confident with themselves, and were ready to boast to the other cars and trucks in the village along the branch line.  
When they made it to the yard, Ryu carefully shunted the rest of the trucks away, before separating Kin and Kuro from the rest of the train. They were shunted into a lonely siding for Naomi to take them later. The two laughed and joked loudly.  
"Did you see him when we passed the coal mine?" Kin said. "His face was priceless!"  
"Never have I ever seen such a sorrowful steam engine," Kuro said poetically. "Fills my engine with pride, my brother."  
"It won't be long before we get the branch line too!" Kin laughed.  
"And what a glorious day that shall be," Kuro smirked. "I hope that Sora thinks of joining us. Honestly, a bus as sturdy as him on rails...it's a crime shame!"  
They bantered on for so long that they didn't notice an engine buffer up to their flatbeds. The engine had to jerk the flatbed hard before the two buses finally noticed Misaki glaring at them.  
"Huh?" Kuro said. "Wasn't Naomi supposed to be taking us?"  
"Change of plans," Misaki said darkly. She pulled out of the yard and was soon cruising down the branch line to the bus depot. Kin and Kuro exchanged nervous glances.  
"Isn't it odd?" Misaki said.  
"What is?" Kuro asked, with a glare.  
"Oh, I don't know. In the past month, you were both messing around, and both times, Twelve got into trouble."  
Kin gulped. Kuro regained him composure. "Misaki, what are you..."  
"Kin broke down and delayed the Express," Misaki said, "and that day, Twelve got in trouble for the parts going missing. Later, he gets in trouble again, for crashing into Kuro while trying to save the dam. It's just odd. See? It makes me curious."  
The twins scowled at her. "We're not trying to take the railway down, if that's what you're thinking," Kin said.  
"How oddly specific! I wasn't even about to ask that!" Misaki laughed out loud.  
Kin went red in the face. "See, THIS is why you don't talk!" Kuro hissed.  
"I was going to ask, however," Misaki went on, "if you two know anything about a big diesel creeping into the Works."  
"We don't know anything about that, kid," Kuro said.  
"Really? Because I have an eerie feeling," Misaki said, "that you know something. Kin breaks down, nobody's at the works to see what happened, and the parts vanished. Are you working for somebody?"  
"What? No, not at all!" Kin said.  
"You can't get anything out of us," Kuro added.  
Misaki frowned. "Aww, and I was going to bring you back home. Oh well! I guess I'll just have to dump you into the river!"  
They gulped. "You wouldn't," they said together.  
"Try me," Misaki grinned just as they plunged into the Forest Curve tunnel. They puffed out through the forest, over the crossing that was still under repair, and right through the lumber yard. She pushed the two right over to Goro's loading ramp, with the river surging beside them.  
The two looked down into the river and shuddered. "You're bluffing!" Kuro cried.  
"The only time I'll be bluffing," Misaki said, "is when I tell the temporary Controller that you two tried to drive over a bridge but ended up falling into the water."  
"Should we do what she says?" Kin whispered to Kuro. "I think she's lost it!"  
"We don't know anything!" Kuro shouted crossly. "You've mad, steamer!"  
The arguing was stopped by a whistle and a loud yawn, and slowly Goro turned around. He was about to say hello to Misaki when he noticed Kuro. "Hey!" he said. "That's the bus that knocked the logs into the water!"  
Everyone went quiet. The twin buses went pale. Misaki smiled triumphantly.  
"Okay, fine," Kuro spat. "We're working for another engine. He's big and strong and the smartest thing on rails we've ever seen. He wants all the steam engines gone so that more diesels can be made."  
"I'm cool with him getting rid of steam," Kin muttered, "but can't he encourage more roads for us?"  
"Who is he?" Misaki asked.  
"We can't say," said Kin.  
"If he finds out we even mentioned this," Kuro said, "it'll be the end of us. He really means business."  
"The biggest and scariest engine we've ever met," Kin agreed. "You can do whatever you like to us, just don't tell him!"  
Misaki sighed. She looked over to Goro before speaking severely to the buses. "Our Controller's in a lot of trouble because of Twelve's crash," she said to them. "I'll spare you both, if, and only if, you admit to your owner that you, Kuro, were deliberately trying to get in Twelve's way. AND admit that you were the one who almost destroyed the dam."  
Kuro winced. He looked over to Misaki, and then into the rushing river just a few feet to his right. He heaved a sigh. "Okay, you win," he said. "Just...don't tell any of the diesels, okay?"  
"Any of them?" Misaki said. "Isn't there just one?"  
"Yeah," Kin said, "but you know how diesels are, right? Say something to one, and they all know before sundown."  
Misaki rolled her eyes. "You two are being paranoid. Here, Goro will put you back on the road. I've got to find Twelve."  
She hurried away from the platform, and headed toward the yard. She passed Shane, who had seen the whole thing, and was chuckling. "Yeh weren't really gonna dump 'em in th' river, were ye?" he said to her.  
Misaki grinned. "My Driver said that's what they do in those mystery stories he likes 'Interrogation' or something-rather."  
Just then, thunder boomed overhead. Misaki and Shane looked up at the dark clouds. Misaki felt drops of rain on her boiler.  
"If yeh wanna fin' Twelve," Shane said, "ye'd better hurry."

The rain had turned into a downpour by the time Misaki screeched to a stop at the coal mine. Her Driver and Fireman huddled closed to her fire, trying to keep warm while surrounded by the freezing rain. Misaki squinted, looking around the yard, but she couldn't see No. 12 anywhere.  
She crept up to the workmen's building on the side of the platform. Inside the foreman was sipping a cup of hot chocolate, reading the newspaper. Misaki tooted her whistle, and the man nearly jumped up in surprise. Her Driver and Fireman hurried inside to talk to him. Misaki watched them quietly before they came back out to her cab.  
"Did he know where Twelve is?" she immediately asked.  
"He left an hour ago," the Driver said. "There was a power outage on Keikan, and they needed him to bring a generator."  
Misaki's eyes went wide. "He can't go there! The diesels will rip him apart! Can we go after him?"  
"They closed the bridge," the Fireman explained. "The winds on the sea are so strong that they think it'll blow engines over."  
Misaki shivered, and it wasn't because of the cold rain. "I hope he's safe..."

No. 12 was trudging his way over the bridge just as the wind picked up from the sea. He looked out at the water, briefly remembering when he had crossed it before, and seen nothing but sunshine and beauty. Now the bridge groaned beneath his wheels as the waves rocked and the rain pelted his boiler. He started to wonder how hard the wind would have to blow before it could knock him over into the sea.  
His cylinders made an awful groaning sound. No. 12 winced and slowed down. "We can't stop!" his Driver called out. "They're going to close the bridge in this condition!"  
No. 12 took a deep breath and shut his eyes. He puffed on, ignoring his pain. The van carrying the generator creaked miserably behind him. The wind got stronger, and the rain felt colder than ever, but No. 12 kept going.  
After what felt like hours, he puffed safely off the bridge and rolled into the yard. He looked up to see that the sky has turned a deep orange, the rain and wind starting to die down with the setting sun. He screeched to a stop right beside the main platform, and the workmen hurried over to unload the generator from his van.  
No. 12 watched them work before his eyes made their way towards a siding. There was a coal bunker and a water tower, the ones he had used when he once worked on Keikan Island. He heard a soft rumbling from beside him as a long, black figure appeared. "You don't want any of the coal," came Raiden's voice. "It's all soaking wet. Completely useless. The water in the tower's probably contaminated too. It hasn't been used since you got that Temp guy."  
No. 12 looked over at Raiden. He scowled and quickly looked away.  
"Oh, don't give me that face," Raiden said in a soothing tone. "Look, I've heard all about what's happened to you over there. It's just not fair at all, is it?"  
No. 12 lowered his eyes.  
"I've been there before," Raiden went on. "Having everyone against you, everything bad is your fault...it just eats away at you. Especially when you know that there's nothing you can do about it. It's a cold world out there, Twelve...much colder than most engines realize until it's too late."  
No. 12 wheeshed steam in agreement.  
"That's why you gotta do what's right, even if others hold you back," Raiden said. "I know I don't have a good reputation with you steam engines, but...trust me, Twelve, you'll be just fine."  
No. 12 couldn't help but smile a bit. It felt like it had been far too long since any of the big engines had been friendly to him.  
"Once you put that van of yours away," Raiden said in an unusual, kind tone, "you can come to our sheds and rest for the night. It's a big, roomy place. You can't miss it. See you there." Raiden tooted his horn and rumbled out of sight.  
No. 12 puffed over to the yard, and shunted the van along with the others. His tanks and bunker felt empty, but he couldn't help but smile a bit. He knew it was strange for Raiden to be nice, but for him, it was better than nothing.  
No. 12 stayed in the siding while his Driver and Fireman went to get something to eat. As he waited, he watched the orange light from the sun vanish over the horizon. The lamps on the side of the station building flickered on. The rain had almost completely died down by now, reduced to a few droplets here and there. A moon, half-full, was just barely visible through the clouds. To pass the time, he tried counting stars, but kept losing count; the clouds kept getting in the way, and he didn't know if he was counting the same star twice.  
No. 12 thought back to the rest of the engines back on Tanishima. Did they really think he was the bad guy? And what worried him most of all was that Misaki didn't even try to stand up for him. He had always trusted her to be on his side, and if she had spoken out, maybe he wouldn't be where he was. He couldn't help but feel betrayed.  
His Driver and Fireman came back, looking pleased. "Come along, old boy," his Driver said. "Let's get you to the shed, and we'll take you back home in the morning."  
"Where should we stay?" the Fireman asked while they climbed into No. 12's cab.  
"I know this nice little place, but the rooms smell like rotten sushi..."  
As the two talked, No. 12 puffed out of the siding and made his way down the line Raiden had told him about. Ahead of him was a large building with two doors. He couldn't see it properly, but he knew it was very different from his old shed. He puffed carefully inside.  
All around him was pitch black. He couldn't make out any people or engines past his buffers. No. 12 puffed along until coming to a stop by a curve. He could hear a low, groaning noise beside him. There was a clang of metal from up above. The air around him was warm and smelled of hot metal. No. 12 didn't realize what was going on until a voice echoed out from above. "Power's back up! Back to work!"  
Red light illuminated the building, and No. 12 froze in terror. All around him, he could see piles of twisted scrap iron, the remains of boilers and smoke boxes mere feet away. Sparks flew as an engine's bunker was cut apart, and the red light grew brighter as he watched an engine's remains get melted down. Raiden had lied to him; he had lured him right into the scrap yard.  
His Driver tried not to panic, but he swore angrily from under his breath. He tried to reverse No. 12, whose axles and wheels gave a horrible groan that echoed all around. Through the smoke, three red lights started to creep forward on the rails in front of him. He could barely make out the faces of Mari, Kenji, and Toki, their expressions twisted and frightening from the glowing red and swirling smoke.  
"Well well well!" Mari said in a dark, seductive tone. "Looks like you've finally come to join us, Twelve!"  
"Get ready, steamer!" Kenji snarled, his tongue flicking against his fang. "Don't worry; it'll only hurt a lot!"  
Toki never said a word. He smiled and giggled, before he broke down into a sick, twisted laugh, his face looking comical and surreal, sending chills through No. 12's frame.  
No. 12 was so frightened that he wanted to scream. He had started to reverse, but his Fireman looked back to see the doors of the building starting to close behind them. His Driver tried his best to make No. 12 gain speed.  
"Get back here!" Kenji barked as the three diesels started to close in on him. No. 12 was shivering from funnel to footplate. If the doors closed before he reached them, he'd be cut down to scrap metal. His Driver pushed him as hard as he dared. It was all or nothing now.  
No. 12 shut his eyes tight and rushed through between the two doors. There was a loud crack as they bashed up against his front buffers, denting them, but No. 12 didn't stop. He rushed backwards away from the scrap yard, and right through the station and onto the bridge, the laughter of the four sinister diesels of Keikan Island echoing into the cold night air.


	61. Battle for the Mountain: Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Dawn was creeping on Keikan Island. Mari, Kenji and Toki were all in the yard, watching as the sun appeared over the horizon.  
"It's almost time," Mari whispered. "We have to go."  
Mari and Kenji began to reverse, but Toki stayed where he was. Kenji eyed in curiously. "You coming or what?" Kenji asked.  
Toki looked back. "I dunno, can I think about it first?" he asked.  
Mari was surprised. She couldn't remember the last time Toki had actually mentioned thinking for himself. "Sure," she said. "But don't wait out here for too long. You don't want to make him mad."  
"I won't get mad," Kenji told her.  
"No, not you. HIM," Mari emphasized.  
Kenji quietly agreed, and the two diesels rolled away. Toki watched the sky turn from black to yellow, before reversing too, until he rolled over the points into the station. He went around to the other side of the platform, and found Raiden, looking alone but thoughtful.  
"Hey, Raiden?" Toki quipped.  
Raiden looked up at the smaller diesel and gave a small grin. "What's up, kid?" he asked.  
Toki rolled alongside Raiden, looking nervous. "Uhm," he started. "Do you...do you think we're doing the right thing?"  
Raiden looked surprised by the question. He looked down at the rails. "You know, now that you mention it," he said quietly, "I've been kinda wondering the same thing too."  
"You have?" Toki asked.  
"Yeah, I mean..." Raiden looked over to Toki. "This is where Twelve grew up, right? Where he's worked since the day he was built. And here we are, trying to scrap him right in his old home."  
Toki stared. "I never thought of it that way..." he murmured.  
Raiden chuckled. "I figured."  
"The way I was thinking...are we supposed to work with the steam engines, or against them?"  
"What do you mean by that?"  
"Like...sometimes they tell me about the other diesels there. And they're actually friends with the steamers. And when I try to picture it...we've been working with them too, right?"  
Raiden eyed Toki curiously. "For a simple kind of guy," he said with a smile, "you sure do have your moments."  
"My what?" Toki asked.  
"But you have a point," Raiden went on. "We work with them, and it keeps our railways running, and they have their own home too...why do we bother holding this grudge against them? I mean, it's not like they've tried to scrap us or anything. So why do we do it to them?"  
"I guess because..." Toki frowned as he thought. "...because we're told we're supposed to?"  
"Maybe..." Raiden glanced up at the bridge just as he heard a long, loud horn. "Don't go anywhere. There's something I gotta do."  
Toki stayed by his side, and the two waited. Within a few minutes, Big D rolled off the bridge and right on the track beside Raiden. It was his turn to take the Sunlight Express, under the Temp's orders. "Morning, Raiden," Big D said with a smile.  
Raiden and Toki exchanged glances. "Listen, Big D," Raiden said. "There's something we gotta talk about."  
"Oh?" Raiden raised an eyebrow. "What is it? Did you get that mute scrapped last night?"  
"That's the thing," Raiden replied. "I don't think we should go through with all of this."  
Big D's face lowered into a scowl. "Oh Raiden," he growled. "What a terrible shame. Siding with the steam engines?"  
"It's not like that!" Raiden said defensively. "It's just...this isn't going to work out, you know?"  
"Oh, believe me," Big D snarled. "I know. Especially not with you around."  
"What are you...?" Raiden started, but just then, he saw Mari backing down in front of him. From behind, he felt a jolt as Kenji buffered up too. Raiden looked back and forward at them, shocked. "What are you two doing?" he snapped. "Get off of me!"  
"Can it!" Kenji barked, and he violently bashed Raiden forward. Toki watched, frightened and not knowing what to say.  
"You're far too soft to be a leader, Raiden," Big D growled. "You put up this act of being a big, mighty engine, but really you're nothing more than a joke. A fake. Useless for anything important."  
"How dare you!" Raiden snarled. He tried to move, but Mari and Kenji had locked their brakes hard on. Even though Raiden was bigger than both of them, he could barely move.  
"So from here on out," Big D said with a dark smirk, "I'm the one leading here. You do as I say, or you're going into the sea."  
"Mari! Kenji!" Raiden hissed. "What's gotten into you two?"  
"Didn't I tell you to can it?" Kenji snapped before bashing into Raiden again. Mari never said a word. She just looked over at Toki.  
"And what shall we do with this one?" Big D asked, looking over at the lone shunter.  
"I..." Toki squirmed nervously, looking over at Raiden, and then back to the menacing Big D. "I don't want to work for you!" he said defiantly.  
Big D glared at him. "Well then," he said crossly, "might as well send you to the furnace."  
"Don't touch him," Mari hissed.  
"And why shouldn't I?" Big D said.  
"You promised me you wouldn't hurt him. He's just a kid."  
"Promises are such messy and annoying things," Big D sighed. "If he doesn't co-operate, he gets cut up. Simple as that."  
Mari began to argue loudly with him. Raiden looked over at Toki. "Get out of here!" he said in a stressed whisper. "Get to the other railway as fast as you can! Tell them everything!"  
Toki gulped. "But you said never to..."  
"Forget what I said back then! Listen to what I'm saying NOW!"  
Raiden looked at the little diesel with pleading eyes. Toki look at him, then back at Big D and back again, not knowing to listen to Big D's threats or listen to Raiden's contradicting words. In a fit of frustration, his engine roared into life, and he bolted out of the yard as quickly as his little wheels could carry him, right onto the bridge.  
Big D watched him go, glaring furiously. "He won't make it," he hissed. "Once I'm on with the Express, I'll find him."

Misaki usually went home to the sheds every night, but this night had been different. She had waited at the coal mine for No. 12 to come back, and had fallen asleep. Her Driver and Fireman spent the night at the workmen's building, trying to be as comfortable as they could. When dawn finally broke, they came out and started her fire, using some of the coal from the trucks to fill her bunker.  
Misaki's fire burned bright, but she still felt cold and alone. She was preparing to go back to the sheds when the telephone rang in the building. The foreman answered it, and called out to Misaki's Driver.  
"There's something stranded on the Main Line," he called out. "The Express can't leave Keikan until it's moved. Your engine's already in steam. Can you go move it?"  
"Sure thing," her perplexed Driver replied. Misaki puffed carefully away from the mine and out onto the Main Line, heading for the Keikan Island bridge. Misaki looked around. All of the buildings she passed were covered in icicles. She shivered, but was happy; she loved snow and couldn't wait for it to finally fall.  
She was near the bridge when she saw him. There, cold and alone was No. 12, with bags under his eyes and his side tanks covered in icicles and ash. His buffers were dented, one barely hanging on to his buffer beam. He noticed Misaki puffing up to him. He glared and looked away, avoiding eye contact.  
Misaki frowned. "Hey, Twelve, don't be like that..." she sighed sadly. She puffed forward, and her Driver was about to couple her up when he noticed something else nearby. "Did he say there was one thing blocking the track, or two?" he asked Misaki and the Fireman.  
Misaki glanced over, and there on the other track was a small, black diesel with yellow buffer beams and hazard stripes. She quickly recognized him as Toki. She puffed up to him, with No. 12 still coupled. "Toki? What in the world are you doing here?" she asked.  
Toki gulped, looking up at her. "I'm out of f-fuel," he stammered. "I w-was r-running aw-way."  
"From what?" Misaki asked. "Toki, what's wrong?"  
Toki bit his lip. "Everything."

Misaki hauled the two tired engines back to the sheds, where the rest of the Upper Valley Railway engines were getting prepared for their day. Misaki shunted Toki right on top of the turntable. As Toki had already told her and No. 12 everything on the journey, she hurried away to take No. 12 to the Works.  
Toki looked nervously around. Save for Katsu, all of the engines towered over him. "What's a Keikan diesel doing here?" Ryu said angrily.  
Toki looked down at his buffers. "It's about...uh...it's about Big D!" he said, forcing the words out.  
"What about him?" Hideaki asked. "He's kept the work flow going after Twelve left."  
"B-but he's a mean liar!" Toki said. "He wants all of you scrapped!"  
The sheds went silent. "Really?" Naomi said. "Because that's what I thought you Keikan engines wanted more than anything."  
"No! I mean...well...sometimes? I don't know!" Toki huffed. "But Big D's been using everyone to get what he wants! He wanted your Controller to be thrown out!"  
The engines stared at him. "How'd you know about our Controller?" Takao asked.  
Toki sighed, trying to ease his nerves. "Big D told us it'd be easier to take your railway over if your Controller wasn't around," he explained. "And since your railway's just part of the Mainland's bigger railway, he wanted to cause enough problems to make them notice."  
"Are you sure about this?" Morning Light asked.  
"Surer than sure!" Toki said. "He even made those two buses help him out. He told me!"  
The other engines listened as Toki explained everything. He told them how Big D convinced Kin to delay the Sunlight Express, and Kuro to mess up the logging operation and to stop any engine trying to get over the crossing. He told them how Big D was the one who insulted Oni, so that Hiro's parts could be stolen when nobody was looking. He told how Big D convinced the Temporary Controller that everything had been No. 12's fault, wanting to lure him closer to Keikan Island, so that they could cut him up.  
"...and now he wants to convince the temporary guy to bring his brothers in," Toki went on. "He's got nine other diesel friends back at home, and he wants to get rid of all of you so that he can bring them here. Then this would become the biggest diesel-only railway in the whole world."  
The engines were quiet in shock. Morning Light looked down at the rails, crestfallen. "Wow..." he said as he heaved a sigh. "How could we have been fooled so easily?"  
"Are you still working for him?" Ryu asked.  
"I told him no," Toki said, "and then he told me that if I wasn't, he'd have me...c-cut up," he stammered at the last words.  
"Now you know what it's like, don't you?" Katsu said defiantly. All of the other engines glared at him. Katsu went red in the face. "Sorry, that wasn't called for," he coughed.  
"Well what are we supposed to do now?" Naomi asked. "Big D's already the Temp's personal favorite."  
"Misaki said she has a plan," Toki said. "Here, listen..."

Big D's afternoon was rather uneventful. He pulled his Express from Keikan to Tanishima's coast, but he didn't see Toki anywhere. He was on-time, and the Temp praised him for his hard work. He afterward brought a goods train to the Valley Station, just as the announcement came that the new mountain line was finally completed. "They're going to start trials next week!" the stationmaster told Big D proudly. "It's going to be great!"  
Big D took on fuel, and rumbled away toward the sheds. He was looking forward to a rest before his next train later that night. To his surprise, he barely saw any of the other engines during his trip. He had just arrived at the sheds when he was greeted to an unusual sight.  
Almost all of the engines were waiting there. Takao, Katsu, Naomi, Misaki, Morning Light, Ryu, Hideaki, Sora, and even Shane were all parked, watching him. Big D stared, taken aback, but quickly put on a smile and rolled under the shed, right over the turntable. "Well, well," he chuckled. "It's a pleasure to see everyone tonight. Did you hear the good news? The new line's finally complete."  
"Yes, we heard," Misaki said with a coy smile. "And we're all here to celebrate it. We were all just talking about how much Hiro would have loved to travel that line."  
Big D cleared his throat and smiled. "Why yes, he would have," he said. "He gets lots of nice long runs back at Sodor though."  
"Does he now?" Misaki said. "How often did you get to see him?"  
"Almost every day, my dear," Big D replied. "My passengers even waved and cheered when they saw him."  
"That reminds me," Misaki said. "There's something I wanted to ask about him, if you wouldn't mind."  
Big D grinned. "Go ahead, ask."  
Misaki's eyes narrowed into a glare. "What was Hiro's number?"  
Big D froze. The sheds got so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.  
"Excuse me?" Big D said.  
"You must have seen him lots," Misaki said. "So what was his number?"  
Big D's smile faded. He could feel the other engines' eyes burning into him. "I...it's just a number..."  
"Good engine friends always remember each other's numbers," Misaki said. "You're good friends with Hiro, right? So. What was his number?"  
Big D was at a loss for words. He scowled at Misaki. "Do any of you know what it's like to be rescued by something lower than you?"  
None of the engines said a word.  
"On my first day pulling scrap," Big D growled, "the trucks pushed me, and next thing I knew, I had crashed through some buffers and was face-first in a ditch. I thought it was humiliating, but apparently, it wasn't nearly humiliating enough. This big, black, Asian steamer shows up out of nowhere, and he hauls me and my train back onto the track, as if it was the easiest job in the world. I'm supposed to be the modern diesel, and yet there I was, being rescued by old technology.  
"And then my brothers found out. All nine of them laughed at me until the day I left. Not a single one would let me live it down. Not even my Owner. He was furious. He told me if I had to be rescued by what I'm supposed to replace, then I was no good to him."  
"So you tried to scrap Twelve because he saved your life?" Misaki hissed.  
"Because he humiliated me yet again!" Big D was growling now, the calmer, nicer persona completely gone. "I come here to start fresh, be a new diesel, and next thing I know, this puffball shows up and makes me look like a fool!"  
"Maybe you shouldn't act like one then," Misaki said defiantly.  
Big D snarled with rage. "You'll be cut up," he said darkly. "All of you. One by one, you'll be broken up and what's left will be used to build big, mighty diesels just like me. Nobody will even be able to remember the last time they traveled behind one of you useless tin kettles. All they'll know is that Diesel Number Ten is the biggest and best!"  
He crackled as the other engines booed and hissed at him. "It's amazing!" he laughed as his turntable turned him to face the outside doors. "Never before have I seen an island filled with such useless engines! Katsu, you're too small! Takao, you're too old and weak! Naomi, you're just a cheap imitation of diesel railcars! Misaki, you're just an annoying brat! Akio, you're just an imitation of diesels – and a terrible one at that! Ryu, Hideaki, you're both just big losers with big egos! Sora, you're pathetic for liking any of these guys! Shane...I could go on for days about what's wrong with you!"  
He had turned to face outside, only to be buffer-to-buffer with No. 12, who had just come back from the Works. He hadn't been completely fixed; he had his buffers back, but his wheels and pistons still made their horrible groans. No. 12 glared at Big D, letting out four puffs of smoke. Big D may not have been able to understand what No. 12 was trying to say, but the engine's angry eyes told him everything without a single word being said.  
Get. Off. My. Island.  
"You." Big D growled. "You're the absolute worst of them all. You run around trying to be everybody's big hero, trying to be everyone's best friend, and you can't say one word. You're not nearly as good of an engine as you think you are. You don't even have a proper name, do you, freak? Just who do you think you are?"  
No. 12 replied by spitting on Big D's buffer.  
"You little—!" Big D started, but he caught himself. "There's a better way to settle this. Next week, the mountain line's being tested. You and I will have a race, from the valley station all the way to the top of the line. The winner gets to stay and run the line, and the loser...the loser will never be seen again."  
No. 12 looked back at the other engines before giving a smirk to Big D. He backed away over the points, giving Big D the line to lead out of the shed. His Driver switched the points.  
"Prepare yourself, mute," Big D growled. "Because this run WILL be your last." He rolled over the points and out to the main line, leaving all of the Upper Valley Railway engines staring at him.

The news of No. 12 and Big D's upcoming race spread like wildfire around the island. It took only a matter of days before everyone had turned against Big D. The trucks became especially ruthless. "When are these diesels going to get that the only one who messes with Twelve is me?" Grunt the goods van told the others.  
The Temp was at a loss for how to handle everything. The Drivers and engines, tired of how the Temp treated them, were on strike. Big D tried, in vain, to handle most of the work on his own. But in the end, he brought Mari and Kenji to Tanishima. They forced Raiden to come too. The passengers had heard all about Big D and what he had done, and most of them refused to ride the trains. Branch line passengers even avoided taking Kin and Kuro, and instead began carpooling.  
Ryu would eventually come to help too, even though he detested working with the diesels. "I can't stand seeing my own railway fall apart," he told the others. "Not like my old one." His meeting with Raiden was especially strained; Ryu didn't forget when Raiden almost made him crash into Morning Light.  
Meanwhile, No. 12 was sent to the works. Oni and Ji Yeon kept him company, and the workmen did their best to fix him up. "As soon as you beat that bum," Oni told No. 12, "come back here so we can finally overhaul you. Jeez, you look like you're falling apart!"  
"You'll be fine, Twelve," Ji Yeon tried to reassure him. "You've hauled more trains in one day than that diesel's pulled in his whole life."  
No. 12 liked the encouragement, but he was still nervous, and rightfully so. He would peek out of the Works every now and then and see Big D, hauling big, heavy trains of misbehaving trucks without breaking a sweat.  
Other more reassuring engines would stop by. All of his friends apologized for jumping to conclusions about him, but No. 12 couldn't blame them at all. But he didn't forgive Misaki. She would come and try to talk to him, but he would do his best to pretend she wasn't there. But he couldn't help but feel bad when he saw her puff away, holding back her own tears. He wanted to be friends with her again, but he didn't know if he could forgive her for not staying by his side when he needed her the most.  
The night before the big race came much quicker than No. 12 had hoped. It was decided that he would stay at the carriage shed right at the Valley Station, where the race would start the following morning. The Valley Station was always nice to visit; No. 12 looked at the painting of Hiro while the men prepared a spot for him in the shed.  
The last narrow gauge engine on the opposite platform whistled to him, and No. 12 slowly backed into the shed. As they put out his fire and closed the shed doors, No. 12 uneasily fell asleep.

No. 12 found himself surrounded by a brilliant, sparkling gold. The land, the station building, and the rails were all beautiful and gold and he couldn't help but stare. Realizing he could move on his own, he crept slowly out of his shed, looking around, the golden dust floating in the air around him. Stranger still, there was not a single engine or person around.  
But then, he heard a voice. "Hello?" It echoed around him, but No. 12 couldn't see where it had come from. He looked around, hoping to see another engine. It didn't make any sense to him.  
"Hello?" The voice came again. It was a male voice, calm but serious in its tone, a voice No. 12 could never remember hearing before. Baffled, he puffed over to the platform of the station that leads up onto the mountain line.  
"Hello?" The voice came a third time. It sounded so near to him, and yet so far away. He couldn't understand it at all. He gulped, waiting quietly at the platform for someone, anyone, to show up. Finally, he heard the sound of a long, high whistle and gentle puffing of a small engine. He looked to his left and there, beside him on the other track of the mountain line, was a familiar little engine. She was purple with gold stripes and boiler bands, a gold smoke box, two golden lamps, and four wheels. She looked up at him and gave a small, warm smile. "It's nice to see you again," she said politely.  
"Nice to see—" No. 12 started to say before he came to the realization of where the voice had been coming from the entire time. He went pale and looked down at his mouth.  
The little engine giggled. "Don't be afraid," she said kindly. "You didn't know you can talk in your own dreams?"  
No. 12 blushed. "N-no," he stammered.  
"It's okay," the little engine said. "Not everyone seems to realize the amazing things they can do in their dreams."  
No. 12 looked back at her. "Who are you?" he asked.  
"That's right, I haven't introduced myself properly, have I?" she said. "My name's Lady. Now come along. I've got something important to show you."


	62. Battle for the Mountain: Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Next to No. 12 was a line of dark purple trucks with gold frames, and a similarly-colored brake van behind them. "Bring these up with you," Lady said. "They're needed at the top of the mountain."  
"What are they carrying?" No. 12 asked while backing down.  
"You'll see," Lady said with a little giggle.  
No. 12 stared at her, before suddenly feeling the trucks couple up to him. He pulled out of the station, and the trucks rolled smoothly and quietly behind him. No. 12 had never seen such well-behaved trucks before. He couldn't help but smile. He pulled up alongside Lady, and gave a friendly whistle. She smiled and tooted back, and the two set off together down the new mountain line.  
"It's been ages since I've been up this mountain," Lady said thoughtfully. "I've missed it a lot."  
"You've been here before?" No. 12 asked.  
"Of course," Lady replied. "It's my job. I go to every railway and spread my magic."  
No. 12 looked behind her cab, noticing gold swirls following in her wake. "What does your magic do?"  
"It keeps us alive," Lady said.  
No. 12 didn't know what to say to that. Lady giggled when she saw his confused expression. "We're machines," she explained, "so we're not naturally given a soul. With this magic, we can think, see, and feel, like humans do...even without a face. When this magic isn't around, we don't have any thoughts or feelings...we're just machines."  
No. 12 shuddered a bit. He looked down at the rails, which turned from silver to gold behind Lady's little wheels. "I can't imagine that..."  
They passed a junction that led to the Ice Line. Lady frowned when she saw it, but kept going. "There's nothing more I can do for that line," she said sadly. "Not every line and engine can be preserved forever...some just lose their magic."  
"It's not that big of a loss for us," No. 12 chuckled. "That line was such a hazard that nobody wanted to use it anyway!"  
Lady giggled. "I like your optimism," she said.  
The two engines went along together, over a small hill and then into the mountainside. The tracks separated here; Lady went to the left, and No. 12 plunged through a tunnel on the right. At the other end of the tunnel, he puffed along into the morning sunlight, the trucks cruising smoothly behind him. They passed a small bridge over a waterfall, which poured down into the river below.  
No. 12's line soon met up with Lady's yet again. She tooted happily to him, and he whistled back proudly. They puffed along through tall Jobi trees. Through the trees, No. 12 heard the familiar sound of the red wolves howling. He slowed down to listen. "I thought we were all alone in my dream," he said to Lady.  
"Nature is a funny thing," Lady chuckled. "These wolves are a part of the mountain, and so are all of the other animals who live here. Without them, this place just isn't the same."  
She puffed along, smiling and humming, the swirls of gold flickering around in her wake. No. 12 gave a small sigh and followed close behind her. Beyond the trees, they puffed through a gorge covered in snow.  
Lady's smile faded. "I wish this line would be this easy in real life," she admitted.  
No. 12 faltered. He stopped, only a yard behind Lady. "What if I don't make it?" he asked.  
Lady reversed alongside him, looking at him in the eyes. "What makes you say that?" she asked.  
No. 12 looked down at his buffers. "I mean...there's so much stuff I've thought of doing. I've always wanted to go all over the Island, see everything there is to see. And if I lose this race, I'll..." His eyes lowered. "I won't ever get that..."  
"Listen," Lady said calmly. "Big D may be big and dangerous, but you've got something he doesn't have, and never could. And that's heart."  
No. 12 stared awkwardly at her. "That sounds like something from my Fireman's lame stories for his kids," he said.  
Lady burst into giggles. "I know it sounds silly," she said, "but trust me, believing in yourself goes a long way when you need it the most. And you have plenty of friends who believe in you too."  
No. 12 looked away. "I wish," he sighed.  
Lady watched him quietly. "You'll have to forgive her soon," she said.  
"How?" No. 12 asked. "Do you know what it was like for me? Standing there in the middle of everyone accusing you of being a monster? It's hard to stand up for myself without a voice. I didn't even want to argue. I just wanted to scream. And Misaki...she abandoned me. She just looked away and didn't even try standing up for me. I've been in accidents before, but...that hurt more than any of them."  
A long silence followed this. No. 12 gulped on the mountain air. Lady crept slowly beside him.  
"She couldn't have known," she told No. 12 softly. "None of them could. Nobody could figure out what was really going on until you left, and she's been working her buffers off trying to make amends with you. And it tears her apart knowing you won't even look her in the eye anymore. You're never going to find a friend as good as her."  
No. 12 looked down at the rails, watching the gold dust that swirled around them. "I want to forgive her," he said quietly, "but I don't know if I can...it's hard for me."  
"There's a lot more to you than you know," Lady said kindly. "You're always there when you're needed, you always do your best, and you don't let anyone stop you. Misaki believes in you, and I believe in you too."  
No. 12 looked up at her. "You...you mean that?"  
Lady tooted her whistle happily. "Come along," she said cheerfully. "Only a little more to go!"  
She raced off ahead of him. No. 12, taken by surprise, quickly charged after her. They puffed through the gorge safely, and then over the new viaduct. Neither of the two engines dared to look down at the ground far below.  
In the far distance, a lamp hung on a tall pole, flickering brightly. As they got closer, they could see the new Mount Saiji Station. No. 12 was amazed. "Oh wow!" he whistled excitedly. "It looks great!"  
The two came to a stop just outside. Two tracks ran through it, with platforms on either side. The red buildings stood out against the snow and the white platforms were spotless. Beyond the station were a goods yard, a carriage shed, and a turntable.  
"It just needs one final touch," Lady said. She looked down below at the rails, which were completely black, never having been touched by the magic. "Separate the trucks, and put them all around."  
No. 12 did so. He put one truck near the left platform, and one near the right. The third, fourth, and fifth went to each section of the shed. The sixth went onto the turntable and the seventh on one of the outside sidings. "Okay, now what?" No. 12 asked.  
But Lady didn't reply. In the center of the yard, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The seven trucks started to glow and rattle. A tall tower of bright white light burst from all of the trucks, the golden sky sparkling bright. In the middle, Lady's gold swirls spun all around her, circling the entire yard. No. 12 watched as the black rails beneath him turned into a shimmering gold, and the magic dust filled the air.  
Lady's eyes opened, and she smiled at him. "This is my Rail Blessing," she said, her voice echoing everywhere. "It blesses this railway with my gold dust, so whenever I'm needed...I can be here."  
"Wow...that's..." No. 12 tried to reply, but suddenly found it harder and harder to make words. "What's...?"  
The land and air around them was fading from gold into a bright white. Lady chuckled. "Oh, it looks like you're waking up!" she said. "Remember what I said! You can do it! We all believe in you!"  
"Wait...!" No. 12 tried to croak out. Everything felt lighter than air around him. The warmth of Lady's magic was being replaced with the cold morning air of the shed.  
"Oh, and one more thing..." Lady looked back at the platform, and then smiled at No. 12 before she faded away with the rest of the dream world. "Look out for the ice."

November 17, 1967.  
On this day, No. 12 awoke at the carriage sheds of the Valley Station. He had an amazing dream during the night, and wanted to tell the world about it. But when he opened his mouth to speak not a word came out. He paused, before giving a faint smile. His dream would be his own special secret.  
Not a single assignment was given to him for the day, so he spent his time watching the other engines pass by. Beside him, the narrow gauge engines all whistled at him and wished him "good luck" with his race. Smudger had even told him that one of the elusive underground Post Office engines had told him "good luck" too.  
That afternoon, his Driver and Fireman arrived, and put him in steam. "Let's at least be useful while we're here," the Driver said. No. 12 arranged the coaches and trucks neatly into their sidings and sheds, and brought coaches to the platform for other engines to take.  
He looked down at the new platform for the mountain line. Waiting there were two trains. Each consisted of three flatbeds of Jobi wood, and seven coal trucks behind, followed by a brake van. "You two will be bringing stuff up to the mountain during the race," his Driver said. "Even during all this drama, we have to keep the island running, you know."  
No. 12 chuckled in agreement.  
At long last, evening came. No. 12's Driver brought him to the right side of the platform, and coupled him up to his train. Then he and the Fireman looked him all over, to make sure he was in perfect form for the race. As he waited, other engines came and stopped at the station. Katsu, Takao, Toki, and Sora came first. They were followed by Ryu, who had brought Shane with him. "Ah wouldn' hae' missed this fer th' world!" Shane chuckled.  
Last came Morning Light and Hideaki, who parked behind the smaller engines. As they arrived, just in front of him, Naomi came down from the mountain line, smiling brightly. "There's a surprise for you up there, so don't fall behind!" Naomi chuckled. No. 12 tooted at her cheerfully, and then looked back at the other engines, keeping an eye out for Misaki.  
"She's not here," Katsu said when he noticed. "In fact, I don't think I've seen her all day.  
At long last, the diesels arrived. Mari and Kenji rumbled in, and as the platforms were crowded, they instead parked in the siding. They exchanged glances with Toki. Mari looked guilty, and Kenji looked sympathetic.  
And finally, with triumphant blasting of his horn, Big D rumbled up beside No. 12. He smirked darkly at the Upper Valley Railway engines, and all of them glared back at him.  
"The day's come at last, hasn't it?" he snarled. "Tonight, we'll at long last see how diesels are the superior engine, and...you," he said with a glare at No. 12, "will be history."  
"You can't have him sent away!" Hideaki snapped.  
"You don't have that kind of power!" Ryu said in agreement.  
"Simple-minded steamers," Big D chuckled. "Just you wait and see."  
No. 12 looked up at the dark orange sky. The cold air swirled around the engines. Snow started to float down from the sky. Big D stopped talking for a moment to watch it too.  
"Well finally!" Naomi said. "I thought the snow would never come!"  
A grimace crept onto Big D's face. "Perfect timing," he grumbled. He looked back at the large, gaping hole in his roof.  
Big D was coupled to his train, and the Stationmaster stood on the platform. In his hand, he held a large, checkered flag. He held it up high over his head, a whistle between his lips. No. 12 and Big D tooted that they were ready.  
For a moment, there was complete silence as the engines watched in anticipation. No. 12 took a deep breath. He thought about everything Lady had told him. He thought about everything that had happened ever since Big D had come to the island. And most of all, he thought about his best friend, Misaki. He felt a surge of determination. As much as he cared about sending Big D off the Island for good, right now, he wanted to make sure he saw her again.  
The Stationmaster's flag came down, followed by a loud, shrill whistle. The race had begun.  
Big D and No. 12 started, but Big D took an early lead. No. 12 strained with his train, mustering up as much of his strength as he could, and puffed out of the station and down the mountain line. He could hear all of the other engines whistling their cheers for him, before they faded away behind him.  
Big D was furious The cold air and snow flew into his hole in the wind, and he started to slow. No. 12 puffed faster and faster, and took the lead. "Out of the way!" Big D hissed furiously, but No. 12 didn't even bother to whistle in reply.  
What had started off as a gentle breeze with snow had quickly turned into a gale, and No. 12 and his crew struggled to see. Even with his lamp on. No. 12 could hardly see anything past his buffers. He felt the line beneath him start to ascend. He thought he had reached the same hill from his dream, and charge forward with all his might.  
But his Driver wasn't nearly as convinced. "Something's not right," he said to the Fireman. "We shouldn't have reached the hill by now."  
"What? Are you sure?" the Fireman asked.  
"I'm more sure than sure," the Driver said grimly. "We'd better slow down and see."  
No. 12 hadn't expected his brakes to come on. He squinted through the darkness, the black clouds now obscuring the evening sun. As they reached the top of the hill, he noticed, quite suddenly, the earth leaving the rails beneath him. He yelped, and quickly came to a stop, but he didn't fall.  
His Driver stood out of the cab, looking down. "What in the...?" he started to say, before he saw the creaking, groaning iron bridge. "How'd we end up on the Ice Line?"  
"I have no idea!" the Fireman said through his thick jacket. "Did they change the points before we went up?"  
"How should I...wait...what's that?" The Driver peered out across the bridge. There was something sitting there, unmoving, covered in icicles. The two men hopped back into No. 12's cab, and he crept slowly forward to see what it was. There, on the middle of the Ice Line bridge, were the flatbeds with Hiro's parts.  
"Are you kidding me?" the Fireman said in shock. "Seriously, is this some sick joke? How'd they get there?"  
"Forget this stupid race," the Driver said. "Let's get those parts and bring them back down to the station."  
"What about that whole being 'sent away forever' thing?" the Fireman asked.  
"He must have been bluffing," the Driver replied. "Now let's go get them!"  
No. 12 started to inch closer and closer to the flatbeds. He was merely a yard away, when he felt the entire bridge rumble and groan beneath him. His eyes widened, and he stopped right where he was. Concerned, the Driver looked out of the cab, looking down at the bridge. "This...wasn't the brightest of my ideas," he muttered.  
The bridge groaned again. No. 12 gulped, letting out a feeble whistle.  
"Get us off!" the Fireman cried. The Driver, trying not to panic, started to inch No. 12 backward toward solid land. His train had just safely reached land when the bridge rocked, letting out a horrible screech that echoed through the gorge below.  
The Driver nearly screamed and backed No. 12 faster, but not fast enough. No. 12's front wheels were still on the bridge just as it started to fall. With a loud crack, the rails connecting the bridge broke, and the towering structure twisting and bending. No. 12, with his front wheels dangling dangerously above the gorge, watched as the flatbeds with Hiro's parts rolled down the bridge before tumbling off. The bridge and trucks vanished from view into the darkness below, and a loud, booming crash echoed through the cold night sky.


	63. Battle for the Mountain: Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

As Big D struggled through a long tunnel, he groaned miserably to a stop. His Driver and the Guard stepped out to look him over. "We'll let you warm up a bit," the Driver said, "and then we'll close up your hole. We're not going to reach the station if we keep going like this."  
"Fine, whatever," Big D grumbled. His Driver left the engine running, while the Guard looked around inside the brake van for a tarp. Just then, a loud rumble echoed through the mountain, with the screeching sound of twisted metal. The Driver and Guard jumped, the rails beneath them shaking.  
"What in the world was that?" gasped the Guard.  
Big D simply smiled deviously to himself. The truth was he could have cared less about actually winning the race. By now, he thought, No. 12 would have noticed the missing parts on the bridge and would have tried to get them, but would only end up plummeting to his inevitable doom. It had taken Big D quite a while to plan everything, and it was almost unbelievable – even to him – that it had all fallen so smoothly into place.  
It had only taken him three days to learn about the key points of the Island. The Ice Line leading up to the mountain had been abandoned for being too dangerous, an old friend's parts were situated at the railway's primary Works, and there were plenty of gullible diesels and buses that would buy into his plan, all completely unaware of the consequences. He had also learned, from talking to the Big Controller, that the railway was still part of the Mainland's primary railway network, and thus always under the watchful eyes of the higher-ups.  
All he would need to do was find an engine, wreak as much havoc on the railway as possible, and make sure that engine was blamed. And when it was No. 12 who had humiliated Big D only a day after arriving, he became the target. He knew causing a commotion would be a sign for investigation for the Mainland, but having a replacement Controller sent, who happened to like diesels and was ridiculously gullible, was more than he could ever ask for. While he convinced Raiden to do his work for him, Big D had stolen Hiro's parts, and left them on the rotting, frozen Ice Line bridge. He knew full well that the Keikan diesels would fail to scrap No. 12, who would eventually find out Big D was plotting against them, and would never pass up the opportunity to have the diesel sent away. And to get No. 12 where he wanted him, Big D's driver had bribed the signalman to switch No. 12 onto the ice line to help Big D win the race, and convinced him that the Ice Line was perfectly safe. The poor signalman had no idea of the race's consequences, thinking it was just for fun, and that No. 12 needed a challenge.  
Afterward No. 12 would fall and be destroyed, Big D would find the new Controller and convince him that steam engines are dangerous, accident-prone, worn-out chunks of metal, and it would be in his best interest to fully purchase Big D, as well as his nine brothers waiting back home. And from there, they would bring in more and more diesels, until they would be the world's biggest diesel-only railway.  
Big D closed his eyes, his engine nice and warm, purring contently. All he had to do now was get to the station and tell the Temp about No. 12's horrible accident. To him, it was a cakewalk.

No. 12 was scared stiff, looking down into the dark, terrifying ravine. He knew that, had he moved just a little slower, he would've been tumbling down and ripped to pieces by the jagged rocks. To him, that made the Keikan scrap yards seem like a comfortable place to sleep.  
His Driver and Fireman looked at each other, and then out the cab window. "That's...a long drop..." gulped the Driver.  
"Any bright ideas now?" the Fireman asked. The Driver decided to try reversing the train. No. 12 did his best, but his heavy trucks barely moved, and his wheels slipped on the frozen rails. He shivered – not from the cold, but from fright.  
After a while, the Driver gave up, and applied the brakes. "Well...we could always wait for help," he sighed.  
"Wait for help?" the Fireman said, exasperated. "We're in the middle of some frozen railway line in a blizzard, nobody knows where we are, and you think somebody's going to come help us?"  
A familiar whistle came from down the line. The two men stared out of the side of the cab to see Misaki, puffing frantically up behind the stalled train.  
The Driver grinned to the Fireman. "See, this is why YOU don't gamble."  
No. 12 whistled back, and Misaki stopped just behind the brake van. No. 12's Driver and Fireman hopped out of the cab, and explained to her what had happened. Quickly, they and Misaki's crew got to work. She was coupled up, while No. 12's Fireman and the Guard got on either side of him, with poles from the van. They put them right behind his two front wheels, which still dangled dangerously over the edge.  
No. 12 whistled that he was ready. Misaki took a deep breath, and pulled as hard as she could. In front, No. 12 started to reverse, and the Guard and Fireman did their best to lever his wheels back onto the rails. At last, with a loud and satisfying clang, his front wheels came back safely onto the rails. They didn't stop to celebrate. The Fireman hurried back into the cab, while the Guard jumped onto the footplate.  
Misaki and No. 12 chuffed down the hill and over the points leading up to the mountain line. The Guard got off the footplate, shook himself, and hurried over to change the points manually.  
"I, uh..." Misaki stammered. "I heard the race started, and... I wanted to see how you were doing... but then I saw the points and I... um..."  
No. 12 listened carefully. He was still a little upset at her, but then, he remembered Lady's words from his dream. He smiled warmly. He knew, deep in his heart, that he could never stay mad at his best friend for something he couldn't blame her for.  
"I mean, if you don't wanna talk... I can just..." Misaki was about to leave, but No. 12 whistled at her. Misaki stopped where she was. She knew that special whistle of his, the way he blew it when he was happy...the one he always blew it whenever they were together. She beamed, trying her hardest to keep her eyes from going moist. She closed her eyes and happily whistled back.  
The Guard was running back to the brake van. "We have to hurry, Misaki!" he called out. "We've got a race to win!"  
Misaki gave him a determined grin. "Your train's pulled by Number Twelve!" she chuckled. "You're bound to win!"  
She was uncoupled from the train, but she stayed to give No. 12 an extra push up the first slope. The rest had given him time to build up more steam, and he felt more ready than ever. As he started to charge the hill, Misaki pushed behind, the two engines snorting up the slope.  
No. 12 felt her stop pushing the moment his brake van made it up the slope. "Good luck!" she called out, her whistles echoing behind him. For a while, he heard her, before her voice vanished beneath the icy winds that howled around him.  
No. 12 narrowed his eyes, trying his best to see. It wasn't at all like his dream, where the rails were gold and he could see all the way out to the sea. Now all that was visible over the side of the mountain was the pure blackness of the night, and the snow and ice that blew in front. The trucks rattled and rocked behind him, as if they were about to fly off the rails like leaves in the wind. But No. 12 struggled on.  
He passed through a small tunnel, and out over a bridge. On his left, he could hear the rushing of the waterfall, and the cold water sprayed all over the side of his boiler. He could feel fatigue trying to set in, but he did his best to ignore it. He felt as if, from the corner of his eye, the Razor Train was creeping up beside him, ready to take him off the rails at any moment. No. 12 swore not to give it the chance. He had not gone through being lied to, blamed on, and taken away from those he cared for the most to fall off the side of a giant chunk of land.  
He passed a tunnel, and was soon running parallel to Big D's line, but he couldn't see him anywhere. Before he could relax, he heard a booming horn blasting from behind him. Looking back, he saw Big D come roaring out of the tunnel, his eyes wide with anger, his jaw clenched and his teeth bared. No. 12 had never seen any engine so infuriated.  
"YOU'RE STILL ALIVE?" Big D roared. He started to gain, his engine growling loudly, as they rushed through the familiar forest. No. 12 puffed as hard and as fast as his Driver could make him, and his smoke blew the snow off the top of the trees. The snow blew through the wind and right into Big D's view, but it hardly fazed him.  
As they rushed through the gorge, No. 12 glared back at Big D, and blew his whistle, his smoke from his cylinders blowing out into the diesel's face. Big D snarled, trying his best to catch up. "YOU'RE SCRAP, DO YOU HEAR ME?" Big D bellowed, so loudly that the gorge around the two engines rumbled.  
The two engines were now buffer-to-buffer. Big D tried to draw ahead, but his engine groaned and hissed miserably. No. 12 was feeling the strain too. His face was so red by now that he felt like he was about to burst. But his wheels still pounded the rails, and his eyes squinted through the cold night air.  
They rushed over the viaduct, where the wind was the strongest. Big D's tarp covering his hole fluttered away in the wind. Big D's engine shuddered and groaned, but he didn't stop. And at long last, No. 12 could see the dangling lamp of the station. He couldn't stop now. It was so close. Only a few more yards...  
"Watch out for the ice."  
Lady's words echoed in No. 12's mind for what seemed like only a second, but that was all it took for him to see the station's rails were covered in ice. He had to stop, and it had to be before he went through the station. He knew what he had to do.  
In a sudden burst of steam and fury, he thundered ahead with all his might. His Driver was alarmed as he checked the gauges. "STEADY, BOY! STEADY!" he cried out, before with a loud crack, No. 12's safety valve burst and steam flooded into the cab. Hacking and coughing, the Driver applied the brakes.  
No. 12's wheels screeched on the rails, and in a cloud of smoke and steam, he came to a stop right along the platform. Big D, watching, rushed right through his side of the station without stopping. "WHAT?" he screamed. "NO! THAT'S...!"  
Big D tried hard to stop, but he just skidded helplessly on the icy rails. With a horrible yell, he shut his eyes while he skidded into the siding and hit the buffers with a loud crunch. His front wheels buckled off the rails and he slid into the towering pile of snow, groaning to a stop.  
There was silence for a minute, as No. 12, his crew, and the people on the platform stared at the wreck. The station building door swung open, and the Big Controller stepped out. He was followed by the Temp, who looked like a brown blob under all of his jackets. Behind him was a crowd of well-dressed gentlemen who No. 12 had never seen before.  
"Mr. Komatsu," one of the men said, glaring down at the Temp, who was noticeably shaking, "did you authorize these engines to have a race?"  
The Temp gulped. "Uh, no, I, erm, well, ah...maybe?"  
The gentlemen looked disgusted. The Big Controller walked over to No. 12's side. "See them?" he said. "They're the official Railway Board from the Mainland. They're here to review how the railway's been doing since I left."  
No. 12 realized exactly what that meant, and broke out in a grin.  
"Your job," the man said to the Temp, "was simple. We asked you to leave the railway under its usual operations and observe how it runs, and report back to us for further instruction. And instead, you try to run the railway all on your own. That is ludicrously unprofessional."  
"Hey, that's just not fair!" the Temp cried while stomping a foot indignantly. "You said I would be a Controller! You—"  
"Your instructions," the man interrupted in a stern tone, "were clear. And you went against them. And ever since, we've been getting nothing but complaints from passengers and businesses. It appears that you do not have the necessary skills to run a railway efficiently."  
"It's not my fault that this old geezer decided to buy only steam engines!" said the Temp. "If he'd suck it up and bring in some diesels—!"  
"This railway has run perfectly fine on its steam power. And Mr. Watanabe has dropped his lawsuit. He's told me his bus was responsible for the accident, not this engine," he said as he looked over at No. 12.  
The Temp crossed his arms with a huff. "That engine's more trouble than he's worth."  
The man of the Railway Board ignored him. "Therefore, as of today, you are relieved of duty from the Upper Valley Railway, and will return with us for further evaluation."  
"Aw, come on!" the Temp cried.  
"Feel lucky we don't fire you right now," the man said darkly. That quickly shut the Temp up, who sadly walked back inside the station building.  
The man walked over to the Big Controller, and looked up at No. 12, who could only smile nervously. "So you're Number Twelve," he chuckled, his previously cold and serious face breaking into a kind smile. "We've heard a lot about you. My name is Ken Mochizuki. It's a pleasure to see you in person, at last," he said with a small bow.  
No. 12's Driver and Fireman hopped from the cab. "I'd take you for a run," the Driver said, "but he blew his safety valve getting here."  
"That reminds me," the Big Controller said. "He's due for an overhaul by now, correct?"  
The Fireman laughed. "LONG overdue, Sir. How could you have forgotten?"  
"Well, with Hiro's parts and Ji Yeon's restoration—" the Big Controller started to explain before Ken interrupted.  
"How would you like it if I paid for his overhaul?" he asked.  
Everyone stared at him. No. 12's jaw dropped.  
"I would expect after everything that's taken place over these last few months," Ken explained, "this engine would have turned into something of a celebrity. You're going to have your hands full, and with some money on the side, you'll be able to expand and improve your railway, and not have to worry about Number Twelve here. Also..." he went on, grinning. "I'm kind of a steam enthusiast myself."  
"That's...that's so kind of you!" the Big Controller stammered with a smile. The two men looked up at the falling snow before they headed back inside the station building together.

An hour later, Misaki and Ryu arrived with the breakdown train. Misaki cleared away Big D's trucks, which had stayed on the rails, while Ryu shunted the cranes into place. They loaded Big D back onto the rails, and Ryu coupled up to take him away.  
He pulled Big D up to the platform, where the Big Controller was waiting, his arms crossed. "I should have known you'd be trouble, Number Ten," he said sternly.  
Big D didn't even try to bring his nicer persona back, or make a lie about No. 12. Big D was shivering from one end to the other, covered in snow, his cheeks blue. He didn't look intimidating anymore. "You think you're so special for using steam," he growled, his voice slightly muffled by the snow, "but just you wait! Your lousy engines won't survive in this world!"  
"Oh, I'll make sure they will," the Big Controller said. "And I'll do that by not bringing in engines like you. I'm sure I'll get more diesels along the line...but I'll find the ones who aren't scheming to take over the railway and throw innocent engines off mountains. As for you, you're going back to where you came from, and you're never coming back."  
"You...!" Big D tried to speak, but he instead let out a violent shiver. Ryu whistled and pulled him away before Big D could try and say anything else.  
As the Works were closed for the night, No. 12 was instructed to stay at the station's goods shed for the night. He was uncoupled from his trucks, and Misaki shunted them away before buffering up to him. No. 12 thought she was just going to push him inside, but instead, she put him onto the turntable. He glanced at her in bewilderment.  
"I want you to be able to look outside," she told him with a smile. "There's something I want you to see."  
Once No. 12 was turned around, she gently pushed him into the warm shed. The snowstorm had long died down, and the clouds in the sky were parting, the stars sparkling between them. Misaki backed away from No. 12, letting him look up and see a bright full moon just overhead. No. 12 stared in awe, his eyes wide, mesmerized by the sight.  
"Amazing, isn't it?" Misaki said. "You get the best view from here!"  
No. 12 couldn't help but smile. From far beyond the station and into the woods, the howls of the mountain's wolves echoed into the night. For that moment in time, to No. 12, the howls made some of the most beautiful music. With his watering eyes fixed on the full moon, he whistled happily to Misaki just before his fire went out.

The following day, Misaki brought No. 12 down from the mountain, though it was evening by the time they reached the bottom. To No. 12's surprise, waiting at the Valley Station were all of the other engines. They cheered and whistled when they saw him, and even the Keikan diesels tooted their horns. No. 12's face went red.  
The other engines all told him about the Big Controller returning to their sheds the following night to tell them about No. 12's victory. "How'd you manage to win? That's amazing!" Naomi said.  
"Hiro would've been proud of you, I'm sure," said Ryu with a grin.  
"You really are something, Twelve," Morning Light chuckled.  
"And this railway wouldn't be the same without you!" Katsu said.  
"They should make you a trophy or something," Hideaki thought out loud.  
"Ye make meh proud ter be a steam engine," said Shane with a warm smile.  
Meanwhile, on the other track, Mari and Kenji were with Toki and Raiden. The two diesels looked ashamed of themselves.  
"Toki, look..." Kenji said with a deep sigh. "We're really sorry, okay? I don't know what went through our heads..."  
"You two were really scary!" Toki said, as if more surprised than angry. "I mean, you're not even that scary when you scrap engines!"  
Mari looked down at her buffers, trying to hide her shame. "We really...didn't want anything to happen to you..."  
"Don't either of you worry about it," Raiden laughed.  
Mari and Kenji were stunned. "But you...we..." Kenji started to say.  
"I know, I know," Raiden laughed. "But I think it's about time we stop looking at each other as co-workers, and more like..." His eyes made their way over to the steam engines. "...more like a family."  
"Yeah!" Toki cheered. "We'll always look out for each other, no matter what happens!"  
"I...could go for that," Kenji said, "as long as I get to knock buffers with any engine that gets in our way!"  
Mari smiled at the other three engines. "Yeah," she said. "That sounds...nice."  
Just then, there was a toot as Sora rolled up alongside Mari. "What's this? Mari, are you getting sentimental all of a sudden?"  
Mari's smile instantly faded. "Feel lucky you're next to me, and not behind me," she said from between her teeth.  
"Sorry, I had to," Sora chuckled. He looked over at Raiden. "So, have you thought about joining us?"  
"Well I've talked to my Controller, and he's okay with it, so we'll all be Upper Valley Railway diesels for now on!"  
"Wait, really?" Sora said, astounded.  
"Haha, NO," Raiden said flatly. "Are you kidding? Keikan's where we belong. Now you three – let's go home before they try turning us into steam engines or something." And with that, the four Keikan Island diesels rolled away, tooting goodbye to the steam engines.

The railway, with the Big Controller once again in charge, quickly went back to order. While No. 12 was away, the other engines would take the trains on the Mountain Line, though a different engine would take it every day. The coaches were specially painted with a rich cobalt blue and orange stripes and window frames, and it was hard for engines not to feel grand pulling them.  
The Keikan Island diesels went back home. Now that the diesels were much closer and understood how important friendship was, they promised never to try scraping the steam engines from Tanishima again, but they still tease them. Meanwhile, Oni worked hard not just overhauling No. 12, but also building brand new parts for Hiro. They were completed and shipped in the spring. To this day, nobody knows how he managed to do two huge jobs at once.  
Takao returned to the museum, but not before one final goodbye to the rest of the engines. "It was an honor to work with you all again," he said, his voice filled with pride. The moment he got back, he shared No. 12's story with the rest of the engines and machines living there. Shane went home too, and told the story to Goro, who told it to the other cranes. The big engines told the little engines, and the little engines told the post office engines. The Keikan diesels told the Mainland engines, who went home and told their friends, and suddenly, No. 12's story had reached all across Japan.  
Big D, or more properly named Diesel 10, was sent away on the first boat that came into the harbor. Thankfully, he has never returned. Kin and Kuro went back in service, and on the day before they started work, they drove over to the Works and apologized profusely to No. 12. Having the steam engines in charge, they had come to realize, was much better than being Diesel 10's sidekicks any day.  
A year after No. 12 was sent away, the Big Controller announced something special would be happening during their New Year's party. On the night of December 31st, 1968, all the engines gathered at the Valley Station. The Big Controller instructed the engines not to collect passengers from up the Mountain Line. Even Oni had made it; he was parked on one of the narrow gauge engines' flatbeds. Daichi had made it too, and was telling Smudger and the rest of the little engines about when he and No. 12 saved the dam. Misaki, who parked next to the Mountain Line platform, tried not to be upset. She knew No. 12 was still being repaired, and wished he was well enough to have come to the party.  
It was almost time for the countdown before the Big Controller stood on a tall platform to give a speech. The Little Controller of the narrow gauge railway, the Red Controller of the Post Office Railway, Ken from the Railway Board, and the Representative all stood with him as he took his paper out.  
The Big Controller cleared his throat. "Thank you, ladies, gentlemen, and engines for coming to this wonderful occasion. We began this tradition over ten years ago, when this station was just built. We originally only planned to celebrate the station's opening, but that all changed when we had to use this station to shelter those who had survived the worst blizzard our Island has ever seen. We fed them and gave them warm sleeping bags and railway coaches to sleep in, and what could have been an awful new year for some because a wonderful night for all.  
"Now to rescue the people, we had to make use of what we refer to as the 'Ice Line' – our only way up to the mountain villages, and a dangerous route at that. However, last year, we received the funding to build a wonderful new railway line into the mountain...a much safer, efficient, and faster line. We needed all the help we could get to make this new dream a reality, and..." He let out a sigh. "...unfortunately, the one help we got turned out to have much more...sinister intentions.  
"But, luckily for us, we have one engine that stood up to him. He never had a name, and never had a voice. In fact, when he first started working decades ago, he was a nervous engine who panicked when things went wrong. But in these few months, I saw an engine who, when the odds were turned against him, kept pushing himself and went above and beyond to show the world that he's a responsible, reliable, and really useful engine."  
This was met by cheers from the crowd and the engines. Misaki whistled too, but she still felt bad No. 12 couldn't be there to hear the speech.  
"And I am pleased to inform you all," the Big Controller continued after the cheers died down, "that this engine is on his way down from the Mountain, and will be joining us very soon."  
Cheers, gasps, and murmurs followed this. Misaki instantly perked up. "He's coming? Really?" she said with a gasp.  
Just then, a loud and familiar whistle echoed from outside the station. Everyone turned their attention to the Mountain Line's platform, and Misaki, squinting, could see the light from a train heading towards them. The train was slowing down in a cloud of steam, its shape difficult to determine. When it rolled into the station and along the Mountain Line platform, there was a collective gasp from the Big Controller's engines.  
The engine was No. 12's shape, but he was royal blue all over with white stripes, with blue wheels and white tires. He had the railway initials painted on the side of his tanks, and the number 7 painted on his bunker. On each side of his cab was a nameplate, both covered with bright red cloth. He smiled brightly at his old friends.  
The Big Controller stood to his side, along with Ken. "Now properly named, numbered, and painted," he told the crowd, "he's ready to come home and be really useful once again."  
He and Ken, together, removed the cloth from the engine's nameplate.  
"Welcome home, Wolf!" The Big Controller and Ken said together.  
"Welcome home, Wolf!" cheered the rest of the Upper Valley Railway engines.  
The station was quickly filled with so much cheering and whistling that the Big Controller had to cover his ears. No. 12, now known as Wolf, beamed and whistled along with his friends. As the clock struck midnight, there was no engine in the world happier than Wolf and all of his friends on Tanishima.

**~The End~**


End file.
